Dimensional Descent

Leonel hadn't moved in weeks. He wasn't even consciously aware of the fact that Aina had left and come back several times already. Without any strong threats around him, and subconsciously putting his trust in her, he went all out.

Due to the strong winds and comfort that emitted from his tent, the Frenchmen hadn't dared to approach. By now, they were all convinced that he was an envoy of God.

Aina entered the tent once more. But this time, she frowned deeply seeing his current state.

Leonel's lips were a deep shade of blue, his body quaking with every passing second. The whirlwind of Force surging toward him was more than ten times greater than it had been on the first day. Whether that was due to the increase in his Spirit, or due to the fact he had a deeper understanding of the technique after actually reading it, it was impossible to tell.

Ghastly blue-green veins ran across Leonel's neck and forehead. Beads of sweat rolled down his body, mixing in with the foul odor it was giving off. If Leonel knew that Aina had continuously dealt with his body odor without a complaint for so many weeks, who knew how he'd feel.

If one peered into Leonel's brain stem, it would be possible to see a growing seed of concentrated Force. There was no simple way to complete this process. Leonel had to carve out his own flesh while simultaneously using Force to heal himself.

This was why this step was so dangerous. The brain stem was arguably the most important part of the brain. If it was ever damaged, death was basically guaranteed. Yet, Leonel had to actively do exactly that to carve out a Node for himself.

The only way this was possible was due to the special characteristic of [Dimensional Cleanse]. Not every Force technique would carve out Nodes in the same places, and most directly avoided such dangerous areas. It was precisely because the creator of this technique was so confident in his methods that he dared pen down this technique.

'Use your senses to perfectly memorize the structure of cells in your brain stem… reorganize… stimulate their recreation… destroy the original… repeat…'

It took hundreds of years of research before humans of Earth were able to use stem cells to reproduce brain cells. In fact, it was still in its infant stages even now. Yet, this technique was able to use Force to surpass anything Earth was capable of.

However, it was still up to Leonel in the end to repeat this process countless times. It was simply impossible for him to do this for every one of the millions of cells in his brain stem. That said, a normal Node formed of Fourth Grade Force would barely be visible to the naked eye and could have its size measured in cubic micrometers.

The issue Leonel faced was that his Node was not normal. And, though a normal Node would only take up the space of about 10 cells at most, the true difficultly came in properly restructuring everything so that your mind could continue to function properly.

That alone was already difficult… But Leonel had to replace and reorganize not just 10 cells… But 100!

On any other day, a mere paper cut could slice across far more than 100 human cells with ease. But to Leonel, that seemingly small number was the barrier between him and death.

He knew he could have stopped at 10, that he could have stopped at 20, even at 50… These numbers were already far more than a normal person could match. And, it should also be considered that [Dimensional Cleanse] wasn't a normal technique to begin with, another technique might have their user form a Node of five cells at most!

But, Leonel knew that if he stopped, he would be cheating himself. What had he wasted so much time Priming himself for if he wasn't going to tap into his full potential? If he stopped now, then he might as well have formed his first Node back when his Spirit was at 0.12.

Blood began to leak from Leonel's nose. It was such a deep crimson that it almost appeared black.

The calculations running through Leonel's mind were astronomical. Just how many other neurons did 100 brain stem cells connect to? How many spinal connections? How many smooth muscle connections? How many organs did they control?

Rerouting his whole body like this put immense pressure on his mind. He just wanted to sleep, to alleviate that pain racking his body, but he knew he couldn't.

'Persistence…'

His back straightened. He realized now that the reason he fought those seven A-grade Invalids wasn't because of some random excuse, it was because of something his father had ingrained in his body since he was young.

Persist.

Aina stood at the doorway, her teeth biting down hard on her soft lips.

'He's forming his first Node now? How is that possible? He should at the very least be on his fifth or sixth… Is his high coordination and reaction purely due to his ability then? What kind of ability is that?'

she had a natural ability to read people that came from years of training and

she displayed wasn't her full strength. Because she rarely used her Force, the stats Leonel had of her were actually

fact Leonel's ability, whatever it was, was actually

lips, a shower of blood bursting from the pores of his

being lit swept through. Concentric circles of rippling force winds and dust billowed around him, shooting the tent he sat

opened his eyes with a flash, their hazel burning with a deep blue light that flickered and

mess. His body was coated in blood from head to toe. In fact, the his general vicinity looked as though a concentrated

see that this wasn't normal blood. It had an impure, brownish-black quality to it that released a terrible

[Leonel Morales]

(+0.1); Agility: 0.85 (+0.1); Coordination: 1.00; Stamina: 0.87

the limits the

Node for his brain, not his body. They only had minor ticks up.

something important…' Leonel reprimanded

stink." Aina's soothing voice appeared above Leonel

looking down at himself and taking a whiff,

his senses, he quickly found

with me."

Aina raised an eyebrow.

I'm okay with you taking advantage

be speechless. In the end she turned and blushed, not meeting

He had thought that Aina's bashful personality was all just an act, not different from how

you here doesn't sit well with me.

time she caught up, Leonel was already stripping by a riverside.

her to store many things like

practical. Finding a place to bathe in a Zone or even on Earth right now was near impossible.

you think they'll be alright without

traveled to Aina's as he alternated between scrubbing himself and

"… Yuri knows what to do. Plus, only the Beginner Zone works on the same timeline. The Zone we're in currently is ten to one. Not even three days have passed to

know

speak to him as if the things she was saying were obvious. Did she not realize that he had no idea what she

much potential, there were several other worlds looking to get a piece of the pie… His words seemed to imply that they had started doing this

really only just

moments of silence, Aina's sweet voice traveled to his ears

know about Nodes?" Leonel

the only one?" Leonel could almost hear the light smile through Aina's voice. He could barely hold back

get my hands on the method. I didn't think others

clear a Zone, and as such, he received a

forgot to consider that a Force technique didn't have to be such high grade. And, also, from Uncle Montez's words, maybe others had gotten their hands on treasures through other means. Maybe that was why

first one." Leonel eventually answered. "I chose my brain stem as my first location, so it was pretty dangerous. I should have

did you

raised an eyebrow. "That

"Are you insane?!"

was he supposed to

at best, and most can't even form a second. Recklessly choosing your brain now is not only dangerous, but if you reach

grown man three times her size had come out. He was too angry to see it that night, but he was