Dimensional Descent

Leonel and Anya were escorted into a large room. There was just a single workbench present at the very center of it all and five chairs prepared for the elders that would be, presumably, overseeing it all. Clearly, they had only prepared a single workbench believing that Anya would be the only one taking her exams, but Leonel had thrown a wrench into those plans.

To make matters worse, Leonel and Anya seemed to be laughing and joking amongst each other as though they were two old friends. It was difficult for the elders to even interject with any snide remarks without simultaneously offending Anya herself who was clearly enthusiastically responding to everything Leonel said. So, they could only bite their tongues.

In truth, they didn't care about whether one or two people took the exam now. Their issue with Leonel wasn't that he was here, but rather that he had made them lose face. Every happy interaction Leonel had with Anya was like another slap to their faces. It was as though they felt like he was snatching the good impression Anya was supposed to have of them for himself.

Engnaril followed along with furrowed brows. He was meant to act as an ambassador for Anya so he wasn't necessarily participating in this as a Crafter. But, that only made his emotions even more complicated than the other elders.

In the end, there was Elder Isoltihne who would have very much liked to lop Leonel's head off his neck. But, she too could only stifle herself.

"I thought that you would be mean, but you're actually very nice." Anya said with a giggle.

Leonel raised an eyebrow. Him? Mean? Since when did he give off that sort of impression?

"Mean?"

"Mhm. Your eyes always look like they're calculating something, like you have a barrier up for the world. Plus, there's something dangerous coming off from your body that you seem to be suppressing. You should smile more, yours is not bad to look at."

Anya seemed to be commenting off hand, not thinking very much about what she was saying as her soothing voice tickled their eardrums. But, Leonel felt his heart skip a beat.

Was he like that? He had always thought himself to be quite charismatic… He had even managed to turn a school of nobles into one with a student body that actually respected a commoner like him…

Leonel would often think of those times as he hopped from organization to organization, baffled as to why he couldn't have the same positive effect on them he had had on Royal Blue Academy. Why was it that he made enemies everywhere he went and yet he was probably the most popular guy in his school?

The dichotomy was something he had always blamed on the Dimensional Verse. It was a place that could even ignore his own charisma because it was more intent on fighting and killing than forging relationships and building a kind heart…

But was that true? What if he was just receiving the energy he was putting out?

Leonel didn't think the answer was so simple. There definitely were cruel factors in the Dimensional Verse he couldn't control. But, did that mean he had to close himself off completely?

Leonel's pale violet eyes seemed to glow lightly. His emotional intelligence and charisma were among the most useful traits he had, but it seemed that he had been handicapping himself. He rarely led with his charisma anymore. He was more apt these days to lead with indifference and only open up to a smile if someone responded the way he wanted them to… But that built up a flaw in his character.

He had been so on guard against the Dimensional Verse that he was changing even himself to fit the parts he hated so much about it. What an irony.

Leonel couldn't help but gaze at Anya quite deeply. This woman had only known him for about ten minutes. Was it a coincidence she had said something so profound? Or was it deeper than that?

"There you go, calculating again." Anya said with a pout.

Leonel didn't seem to mind this and smiled instead.

"You're quite smart for a little girl."

"Hey! Who's a little girl! I'm already a woman, I'll have you know. I'm 20 years old!"

Anya stuck her ample chest out as though to prove a point, but all she got from Leonel was more laughter, causing her pout to only grow more pronounced.

"Thank you," Leonel suddenly spoke seriously. "That's already twice today. I guess I owe you two favors now."

Anya smiled knowingly but didn't say much of anything else.

At that moment, Elder Isoltihne cleared her throat, taking the central position of the five chairs. The room was exceptionally hollow, making their voices echo. It was obvious that this room was usually able to test thousands of amateur Crafters at a time. But now, it would only test two.

"Apologies, we only prepared a single Bronze workbench—"

"No problem, granny. I don't really need a workbench."

Elder Isoltihne's jaw clenched so hard it twitched. Who was your granny?!

She cleared her throat, trying to bury her rage.

"We didn't prepare the theory section of the Crafter's Exam because we have reason to believe that Anya has already met the standard. But, it is uncertain that…"

Elder Isoltihne looked up toward Leonel, clearly wanting his name for the record. Usually, Leonel would just hand over his documents. But, obviously this was impossible now… Unless he got a whole bunch of tape first.

"Leonel." He finished.

Elder Isoltihne all but rolled her eyes. "We need your full name for the records."

"Right," Leonel chuckled, forgetting that he was no longer playing a game with Anya, "Leonel Morales."

"Ah!" Anya's eyes widened.

She lifted her skirt, hopping to stand before Leonel and looking him up and down. She looked like a little girl who had found a new toy. The elders had no idea how to react to her antics.

"Do you have one? Show me! Show me!"

Leonel's lip twitched. Couldn't this girl choose her words more carefully?