Dimensional Descent

Leonel immediately felt overwhelmed.

In order to hide the existence of the Force Law Art, a treasure Leonel was sure that even worlds would war over, he had chosen to keep it within the snowglobe. But, he hadn't taken time to consider the disconnect his mind and body would feel in doing so.

Leonel felt as though his concept of time had been completely destroyed. As much as he would love to believe that this meant that he had unlocked some new cheat, he knew better than to think this.

Maybe it was a product of his high Dream Force affinity, but he was quite good at seeing through illusions of the mind. As a result, he could tell that while his mind felt as though time had come to a grinding halt, his body was still very much experiencing it in real time.

This seemingly small matter resulted in Leonel wasting over an hour before he even thought of gazing at the Force Law Art.

Leonel immediately retracted his mind from the snowglobe, a cold sweat on his forehead. He realized then that had it not been for his high Dream Force affinity, he may very well have been stuck in the snowglobe to the end of his life.

Of course, things wouldn't be so exaggerated. As long as just one person came to check on him, he would be able to leave. Well… As long as that person was determined enough to smash through the protections he had put up. But, it was a scary thought nonetheless.

'Wow… So this is Time Force…'

This was the first time Leonel had come across Time Force and it was only now he truly understood how fearsome it was.

Much like everything else in his Segmented Cube, he took the snowglobes for granted. But the reality was that their value was impossibly great as well. If someone with Time Force affinity knew that Leonel had such things and in such large quantities, they'd likely be willing to give up whatever large amount of wealth they had for just one. Well… That or they'd go all out to kill him.

Being able to have the opportunity to observe Time Force at work was rare. Yet, it seemed like Leonel could do so whenever he wanted.

Leonel took a deep breath. This time, he steeled his mind and was prepared for the sudden change.

The world within the snowglobe was an expanse of white fog. At least, that was what it was normally when there was nothing to be stored within it. But now, there was a massive globe of floating golden symbols.

It felt as though Leonel had stepped into the inner workings of a clock. Every shift in a rune or symbol here would cause a chain reaction that ricocheted throughout the whole Force Law Art. Just standing there, Leonel found himself awed at its beauty.

At that moment, Leonel felt a tiny prick on his finger.

'20 minutes already…?'

This time, Leonel had commanded Little Tolly to give him a small prick in 20 minute intervals. He could hardly believe that even though he felt like he was on guard this time that he still managed to wash away so much time so easily.

Still, there was a difference now. Leonel hadn't gotten lost due to some feeling of time dilation, but rather due to the beauty of the Force Law Art.

Maybe only he would be able to say that such a complex system was beautiful, but this was truly how Leonel saw it. If he could one day create a craft so perfect… Just what level would it be at?

'So that's why Camlot uses Spiritual Wood as a medium… Ugh, Spiritual Wood is such a terrible name. Let's call it…. Mage Wood…. Wait, no, that's even worse. Let's throw out the Wood part entirely, it ruins everything…'

Leonel settled on the name Spiritual Medium. Because, even after just 20 minutes of study, Leonel realized that this so-called Spiritual Medium didn't have to be Wood at all.

The basic principle of Camelot's spells was amplification.

When Leonel was first learning Light Elemental Mage Arts, he was stunned by how simple they were. But, what he soon found out afterward was that the simple layered on itself to form more and more complex spell structures. The amplification of this layering was where the strength of powerful spells came from.

A Spiritual Medium took advantage of this foundational law of Camelot's Mage Arts. During the conjuring of a spell, it amplified each one of the individual basic parts, thus making the whole more powerful.

Leonel realized right then that if he really wanted to heal his coach, maybe reforming a new healing spell wasn't necessary. If he could just find an excellent Spiritual Medium, his strength could increase by ten times without even learning a single new spell.

As for what could be used as a Spiritual Medium, Leonel realized that anything with high Soul Force compatibility could work. The reason the trees Camelot formed their wands out of worked so well was because they were a special breed capable of purifying regular Force. This made them good outlets for Soul Force which was essentially just that.

'I don't have any Spiritual Mediums powerful enough and I also don't want to carry around a wand…'

Maybe it was the teenage angst in him, but Leonel had no intention of running around like Gandalf.

From what Leonel could tell, the wand format was just a product of circumstance. Wood wasn't exactly the easiest material to work with and restricting the Spiritual Tree too much would cause it to lose its functions.

But, if Leonel picked a better Spiritual Medium, then he could mold it into anything he liked.

Leonel nodded to himself. But for now, he didn't act on this thought.

The Spiritual Medium he needed would have to be high grade within the Fourth Dimension. Getting such a resource from this place would require strength. And that once again brought him back to a need to heal himself.

Leonel turned his attention back to the massive inner-workings of the Force Law Art again.

Just 20 minutes got him such a breakthrough. Though it seemed meaningless and quite tiny, one needed to consider how long it must have taken Camelot to realize the benefits of a Spiritual Medium.

There were many discoveries throughout history that seemed trivial… Until they suddenly weren't.

…

Outside of Leonel's dorm room-like accommodations, the commotion was only growing.

A youth stood amidst many. His face was flushed red from exertion and his mouth opened so wide one could fit two fists into it.

He looked somewhat comical, but the booming voice that came out as a result had already been shaking the freshman houses for several hours already.

"… COWARD OF THE FRESHMAN CLASS, COME SEEK YOUR PUNISHMENT!"

All around this roaring youth, there was a group of what seemed to be six. But considering the emblem on their neckwear, everyone knew that they were from Hero Peak.

"Hm, it seems that coward isn't enough of an insult for him. Start with Plan B." One of the youths said plainly.