Dimensional Descent

Leonel gazed toward Dee then his brother for a long while, his expression not shifting very much.

Pride in one's world wasn't something Leonel was familiar with. Things like nationalism and cultural pride had already been weeded out by the Ascension Empire long ago. It was easier to bring people together when they didn't believe that there were things that separated them.

But, what Leonel realized just now was that this pride hadn't vanished… It had just been buried. There was nowhere to flaunt this pride if everyone around you shared the same identity.

Much of Earth's Pride turned into one of status and wealth. But, it was also something that anyone could get so long as they performed well enough on the Gene Assessment. As long as you were talented, building up a noble family in just a single generation wasn't impossible…

Leonel himself was a prime example of this. Even though he had no interest in being a quarterback, there was no doubting that it would have made him a very rich and very popular man. The fact he was born on a Paradise Island didn't hinder his future in the slightest.

Due to all of these things, Leonel never truly felt this sinful sort of a Pride. In fact, he had always subconsciously rejected it, even to the point he built his future aspirations on hoping this sort of pride never restricted the life of anyone else…

But what happened the moment Earth was opened up to the rest of the Dimensional Verse?

Suddenly, what once was a closed system became an open one. The cohesive unit of Earth became a minority and the enemies that surrounded them forced Earthlings to look upon them like the 'others'.

What had Leonel thought the moment he stepped onto the battlefield? He had wanted to show these people that the citizens of Earth weren't pushovers and that they were to be feared. But, wasn't that the antithesis of everything he wanted to accomplish?

In just a few steps, even he who was consciously aware of it all, or at least assumed himself to be, had fallen victim to the same sort of indoctrination. In fact, the more enemies he defeated in Earth's stead, the further the citizens of Earth would fall into this line of thought.

where those who aimed their blades toward him weren't

heaviness on his

of trap?

walk into it

up toward the metallic ceilings above

ideologies. Who was right and who was wrong didn't matter

don't even really understand myself, how can I grasp

calm. The emotions that Dee and Dre had showed on the battlefield replayed in his mind again and again. They had put everything on the line just for a chance at

another, but they too remained silent. They

the same ambitions as Leonel. And while Leonel hated the game of football, they actually quite loved it. It could even be said that Leonel was a rare exception

that was what they had always done. This sort of team bonding, relying on each other and having each other's backs is

to rely on

…

second Lake Crossing. His speed and skill this time was much greater. As for the matter from the first Lake Crossing, Leonel didn't worry.

scouts had come from other regions to see what had happened, but how could they hide from Leonel's Internal Sight? They

the eighth day, there

got word from Big Sis

spear made of vines and a blade of