Dimensional Descent

Leonel stepped out with a huffing breath, the image of the Ma'at Bubble fading. He could feel the stares of thousands of Spirituals on him as his gaze flickered with an unwillingness. But once they vanished, he rolled his shoulders and settled in.

'Damn, what an annoyance...' he mumbled beneath his breath.

In truth, he had, indeed, gone all out. But without the help of the Life Tablet which he had purposely not used, actually winning was a tall, tall task.

He was just barely better than the two. The problem was that he lost points because of Clarence, and in the end, he had taken a loss as a result.

As he had said previously, the challenge sequence in this format was different. Rather than an open world, there were more one on one challenges, and there was more variety in what could or couldn't happen. Even he wasn't certain of exactly what would happen.

What was ultimately true though was the fact that making up for lost points when you had bad teammates or not teammates at all in Leonel's case was impossible. It was made worse by the fact that he had no rest whatsoever.

He didn't have to fake how tired he was because he truly was at the end of his rope. The only way he could have won was if he could take advantage of the Life Tablet. But if he did that... then what would all his previous plans have been for? He would have been finished and the war happening in the Owlan Bubble right now could come back and fall right on top of his head.

He had to avoid that outcome at all costs.

However, he wasn't helpless. Although he hadn't lost on purpose in the most obvious sense, in a general sense, he still had.

He didn't need teammates that would definitely win, he just needed teammates that would at least accumulate some points.

As for why he had lost on "purpose", that was obviously because he wanted to be the one to fight against the Nomad Race Bubble. If it wasn't him, then what would be the point?

'I'll need to find a way to make it feel more realistic, though. I'm a genius, aren't I? It's about time my Dream Force breakthrough.'

Leonel grinned.

wasn't like he had gained nothing from this battle other than a loss, and he hadn't wasted months just to force

had gained quite a

designed for healthy competition, it was a method of promoting unity, and that was why there were so many

this time around, Leonel had gained even more of

was easily comparable to the Middle Life State, even the Higher Life State

State, the both of them. It

had would almost certainly

like Leonel, they wouldn't be allowed to display this

would be his

Leonel's side, giving a smile that wasn't a smile. Of course, this

what Leonel had to do sometimes, and she knew it

"You look tired."

am, but soon it won't matter.

stood there in silence, taking a breath and then another breath. He didn't seem intent on

Forgetful Orb appeared in his palm

finally climbed to the Middle

his Fire Force or Bow Force, his talent in Dream Force just felt like... it was on a

The fatigue from the past

message was trying to get through

Leonel chuckled. "Cute."

on the outside was burnt to ash without