Dimensional Descent

Leonel and Aina soared through the skies. Though it would have been faster if the surfboard entered its shuttle mode, Leonel decided against it.

For one, the cockpit was too small for two people and he didn't feel alright leaving Aina alone at this moment. And, secondly, even though they might be able to squeeze in with how small Aina was, he wasn't confident in driving that monstrosity with just a single arm.

With its speed, even a half degree of deviation would fling them off course by tens of miles.

So, Leonel sat cross legged on the surfboard, gliding through the air with Aina balled up in his lap. Even now, she hadn't said a single word.

Leonel gripped an Urbe Ore in his good remaining hand, greedily absorbing its Essence.

The good news about his Metal Body was that he could heal himself even more effectively now just by absorbing the Essence of metals.

Since the foundation of his body had been built upon Urbe Ore according to his father's instructions, for now, only Urbe Essence had this healing effect on him. But now that he could branch out, whatever metals he used to build himself up from now on would expand his repertoire of healing Ores.

It had to be remembered that the most powerful ability of Metal Body wasn't in the astounding defense it provided to the user, but rather in the boost to affinity.

Members of the Morales Clan were able to absorb various Ores and fuse them with their very being. Essentially, if Leonel really wanted a Wind Affinity, he only needed to absorb enough Wind Elemental Ores.

Usually, humans could only accomplish this feat with a very select number of extraordinarily rare Ores, but Leonel and those with his Lineage Factor didn't have this restriction.

In fact, as mentioned previously, [Dimensional Cleanse] spoke of one such Vein Type Ore to use in strengthening Nodes and Nodal Passageways. But, Leonel could take his own path in this regard. In fact, his current Nodal System was far beyond the strength of what was theoretically mentioned in [Dimensional Cleanse].

Of course, there were still weaknesses to this ability. For example, if Leonel only absorbed Fourth Dimensional Wind Elemental Ores, his abilities would be capped at that level. In addition, he couldn't just skip levels and absorb a Ninth Dimensional Ore unless he wanted to die an early death.

If he wanted to build an affinity, he had to slowly and steadily absorb Essence of increasing rarity and strength.

This, however, was where the Morales Clan Divine Armor ability came into play...

build a foundation, the Divine Armor didn't need such forward thought. Leonel could build an armor of darkness now

was these two abilities in tandem that made

for the forward progress of his Metal Body, Leonel had no intention

Metal Body wasn't in creating new affinities, but rather in leaning into the

lightly, wisps of black smoke coming out from his lips

this sight, her lips

finally squeezed out a

"... Idiot..."

that laughter soon followed with coughing so harsh it seemed like he might cough out a lung

cool idiot

such blackness could only come from his charred inner organs, the sight alone was enough to send a

A little." Aina

so hard it

do it

I can't even show off a little bit without getting reprimanded? Is this what that old

it was all hidden beneath her mask

I can't seem

"Agh... My heart..."

grabbed at his chest. This blow, it was far more fatal than anything the

Aina giggled.

some unknown time, her mask slipped off an she planted a kiss on Leonel's

finally lay eyes on her face. Though they had long since dried, one could still see the salty streaks her tears had left

Leonel's battle, but that didn't mean it hadn't felt like

she couldnt move. All she could do was

Puppet Master's way of playing a sick joke. Even in those final moments, he never released

another smile. But, when he wanted to dive in for more, Aina dodged, causing his attempts