Dimensional Descent

Leonel looked around. The Dream Pavilion was indeed a place of great beauty. Plus, their uniforms were, indeed, quite cool. He liked the turban look, especially the range of colors between a deep black to light blues and violets. He felt that it matched him quite well.

He sent a gaze toward those that had followed in and found himself feeling quite amused. If they were struggling so much to enter this place, why were they trying so hard to do so?

What Leonel didn't know was that even for the current Deputy Pavilion Heads, or even the best geniuses of the Dream Pavilion in recent times and into the past, the first trip into the Dream Pavilion was always a difficult one. The fact they could walk around without going straight into a state of meditation like Khelgis and Adru had was a testament that they indeed had some talent.

The main problem was that the Vast Dream Pavilion was a Pavilion ranked near the top 100, and yet it didn't have nearly the talent to uphold that ranking. As a result, its environment was far more lush and vibrant than the norm.

Usually, when you were approaching the top 100, the Pavilion Heads would have Dream Force already surpassing the Lower Life State, many would be beyond the Middle Life State as well. The environment, as a result, was something that could suffocate you if your Dream Force affinity was only average, and if it was too weak, you could directly collapse.

Gemmes, who was paying attention to Leonel the entire time, felt his eyes widen. From the start, Leonel didn't even waver. He took the step as though he was going from one sunny breeze to a slightly cloudy one, there was hardly a change at all. In fact, he was looking around and admiring the scenery.

By comparison, the others were already slightly stiff in their movements. They didn't even have the presence of mind to notice how much easier Leonel was taking it because they were focused on themselves. If they lost their sense of self now, they might lose their minds forever.

Their basic assumption was that everyone was struggling just like they were. Unfortunately, they were very wrong.

Gemmes shook his head and looked away. In his heart, though, the waves had yet to cease. Clarence was very correct about this young man, but would it be enough?

"This is the Vast Dream Pavilion," Gemmes said in a booming voice. "The pressure you feel on your mind now is nothing but the ambient Dream Force concentration in the air. If you want a chance to make it to the real Dream Pavilion, you'll need to walk through this path-"

with a

path they had taken before

take it after the first appetizer, you could still

seeing what was on the inside, and Gemmes didn't stop him. After the old man had

Leonel's casualness. They had been paying attention to the road because Gemmes was describing it, only to see that Leonel had already vanished down the other end of it in the blink of

Pavilion Heads froze. That momentary

...

other side of the road, looking

"You've come. Come up."

He seemed to have been waiting here for Leonel

bit odd, especially since he remembered this man's feverish gaze from the selection, but this was precisely why he

some thought, Leonel complied and walked up the stairs. The Ancient Chinese style architecture was truly a sight for sore eyes, it was maybe the most beautiful

it Ancient China, huh? This is probably

seeing the apartment buildings of the Golden City, it only

confident," Clarence said with a

No. But some things

the Dream Force called to you?"

that what you