Dimensional Descent

Engnaril was stunned. He had thought his plan to be foolproof, but now he could only try his best to hold back an ugly expression.

According to the files, Leonel was Tier 1. In addition, the scan hadn't caught the sign of any other lifeforms on him, so it was most likely that he didn't have a Spirit by his side, making it so that his Force Crafting would be limited.

Of course, Spirits were rare, so this wasn't exactly a negative on Leonel, it was just an observation, one that was just as important as the first.

As someone who was in Tier 1, it was impossible for Leonel to have had the Soul Force needed to Craft Bronze treasures for long. In addition, considering Leonel age, Engnaril would guess that Leonel had been in the Fifth Dimension for a month or two at best. Any longer, and considering his talent, he would have progressed far more than he had.

This was all to say that if Engnaril had to assign a probability, he would guess with 97% assuredness that Leonel was not a Bronze Crafter and was, at best, a Quasi Bronze Crafter, a feat that was still very much excellent for his age. In fact, Engnaril thought that he had vastly overestimated Leonel as well.

But hearing this, he felt like he was at a loss for words.

The elders looked over toward Leonel as though they wanted to tear him to shreds, especially Isoltihne. It was clear that none of them believed Leonel. They weren't aware of what Lady Anya's backing was exactly, but they knew of the person who requested for them to take care of her. Such a person wasn't an individual they could afford to offend, and yet even they were subservient to Anya. This was enough to tell them just what a fearsome existence Lady Anya must be.

And yet, this little troublemaker was trying to ruin everything.

Unfortunately, before they could say anything, Anya's expression lit up. She clapped her hands together, her slender fingers and delicate palms turning red at just the slight strain.

"That's excellent! Then we can take the exams together!"

Anya seemed to be excited. Her smile bloomed beneath her veil, but it was just a shame that they could only catch the faintest shadow of it all.

At that moment, the elders knew the situation was helpless. They didn't even get the chance to twist Leonel's arm into admitting that he was lying. It was all very infuriating. However, the troublemaker himself no longer spared them a glance, smiling in thanks to Anya.

Leonel had never blamed Anya to begin with. After all, it was clear that this had all been done without her knowledge. At the same time, he also had a feeling that she wasn't as naïve as she was pretending to be. Clearly, she was helping him. For this, he was grateful.

A beauty who also had a kind heart. Worthy of praise, indeed.

Engnaril and the elders looked at each other, not quite knowing what to do. But, Anya pushed them along with her next words.

"Little White is getting tired after pulling my carriage along all day, she would like to graze and relax a bit. I hope that we can start the Exam sooner rather than later so she can have some rest."

"Ah… Yes, yes…" Isoltihne reacted. "Please, this way."

Anya didn't bother to enter her carriage once again, walking beside Little White with a light smile on her face.

"Thank you."

Leonel's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, so the elders leading the way forward, including Engnaril, definitely heard him aim these words toward Anya. And yet, they could only pretend like they hadn't heard a thing.

Anya looked over toward Leonel with sparkling eyes, her gaze carrying a hint of mischief, another hint of intelligence, and a splash of curiosity and kindness as she examined Leonel's face.

"I'm Anya."

Leonel chuckled. "I'm Leonel."

"Just Leonel?" Anya blinked.

"Just Anya?" Leonel replied.

"Ah, right, Lady Anya." Anya said triumphantly.

Leonel was speechless for a moment before he burst out into a fit of laughter. What was truly adorable was that Little White followed along with Leonel's lead, letting out successive 'jijiji' sounds.

Anya felt betrayed. Little White seemed to like Leonel even more than her.

**

Across galaxies, Aina walked through a mansion under the escort of a maid, a cold expression hidden beneath her black mask.

"Here, Miss Brazinger."

Aina nodded and entered the room. However, she was a bit surprised to find that there wasn't anything but an empty desk and chair. Of course, there were other office-like decorations like book cases and the like. But, other than that, the person she was sent here to meet was nowhere to be seen.

"Sorry for not being able to meet you face to face, Miss Brazinger. However, we're in a bit of a sensitive time, at the moment. I had no choice but to bring you forward like this."

Aina understood and didn't say much as the sudden voice pervaded the room. It was impossible to tell where it came from and even more impossible to pinpoint where the Force Art sustaining it was. So, there was no point in bothering.

"I'll get right to the point. I have a mission for you."

Aina was prepared for as much. She had accepted Rychard's proposal to join his faction for a few simple reasons.

For one, she didn't particularly care what sort of position it put her father in. This wasn't to say that she didn't care about her father, but rather that they weren't a family that harped over minor details. 'Political' strife wasn't something they took seriously.

Secondly, Rychard's proposal provided her the most training resources. It was as simple as that. Nothing more, nothing less.

However, she was also aware that there was nothing free in this world. But, she didn't mind. These missions would just be more opportunity to train and hone her skills.

"Your target is the Luxnix family."