Dimensional Descent

Though Leonel had subconsciously always known, seeing the numbers laid out before him now was… depressing. It only put into perspective just how right Aina was.

The numbers were fairly straightforward. 1.00 was a theoretical maximum that Leonel could reach. This maximum was decided by the maximum strength Leonel could match by using his mind, this theoretical limit thus became his ceiling.

It was difficult for Leonel to put a real Tier or Dimension on this max strength of his because the numbers were all so variable. No two Tier 9's were the same and depending on talent, Ability Index, Lineage Factors, and a host of other variables, the strength of two individuals could be wildly different. This was why Leonel could use tricks and his mind to defeat Sixth Dimensional existences of lesser Galaxies, while here, it hadn't been rare for him to run into Fifth Dimensional existence he had to put in quite some effort to defeat.

Even now, Leonel didn't believe that he had met the theoretically strongest existence within the Fifth Dimension yet. That Tier 9 Runed Rapax he had just defeated was only of a particular grade and according to Wise Star Order, there were definitely far more powerful Runed Rapax.

This was all to say that assigning a value of 1.00 to his adjusted strength output was the best that Leonel could do. This was the value that took in a combination of everything he could do, his mind, his thinking speed, his quick reaction times and deduction abilities, and put them together to formulate a certain ceiling of strength.

When things were looked at this way, the numbers became far more depressing. Sniper Archer was the best, but even that could only bring out 58% of Leonel's true strength. A step down from that was Explosive Archer, but it plummeted 27 points down to 31%. The rest were even worse, Leonel almost couldn't help but chuckle.

'It's not accurate to say that this is 58% of my true strength, but it's more like a measurement of efficiency. The closer I am to 100%, the more exponential the increase in my output, with a massive watershed occurring probably at least once per 20 points. That means I'm a lot further away than just 42% away… And that's just with one.'

Sniper Archer being the strongest wasn't a surprise to Leonel. Bar none, Leonel's strongest strength currently was his Bow Force. So long as he could be rooted to a singular spot and shoot to his heart's content, his power output would be devastating. However, the rest was far worse.

Fire Mage was a bit of a surprise at 0.18, but this was likely due to Leonel comprehending the first Rune of his Scarlet Star Force. Just that comprehension alone had closed the gap between his Bow Force and his lesser Dimensional Fire Force by a great measure.

'Hm, what if… Calculate… Scarlet Mage.

'Scarlet Mage – 3.19.'

Seeing this number, Leonel sighed. It seems that even his mind couldn't make up the gap of his inability to use Scarlet Star Force freely. 319% was a value that he found difficult to compute, especially since the scale he was using was exponential. If he ignored everything and was content to end his life here and now, it might not be impossible for him to kill even a Quasi Seventh Dimensional existence.

After finishing these calculations, Leonel explained them all to Aina. After she looked at him a bit weirdly for a moment, she opened her mouth to speak, only to be stopped by Leonel's chuckle.

"What is it?"

"Do you… always break down your abilities with such raw numbers?"

"I used to do it a lot more frequently, but the system was flawed when I used it on others because there were too many variables to account for. It's 100% accurate when I use it on myself, though. It's just that there's no real point in doing so."

"Well… Honestly, I'm not sure how these numbers would translate in the future. If you increased the efficiency of each individual Class, what would happen to your overall strength? How would you calculate it if the goalposts kept moving?"

"Instead of moving the goal posts, I could just put a stake down as a checkpoint. That way, there will be a version 1 of 1.00 and a version 2."

"Sure, you could do that, but then what would be the point? If your individual Classes would also be behind whatever version 2, 3 or 4 there was, then it just goes back to the idea that you should be focused on your mind anyway."

"Maybe… Unless I have a different sort of end goal."

Aina's brow raised, waiting for Leonel to continue.

"Technically, given a number of factors, I could probably make a lot more than just nine Classes. If I mix and match, I could make Classes like Spearman Mage or Fire Archer, or any other number of things. The reason why I chose these exact nine, though, was because they are the most foundational. Everything else grows outward from them.

"However, it's because it's all so disjointed that I'm probably having such issues to begin with, right? But, if I can increase the efficiency of each one, then my ability to tell exactly what should be used in battle skyrockets as well.

"I tend to use as little as possible in battle, in one part to keep trump cards, but another reason is because it's easier to perform high level calculations when the variables are minimized. Oddly enough, the reason why Sniper Archer is probably highest isn't only due to my Bow Force, but it's also by far the simplest of all the Classes.

"If I can raise the efficiency of each class to 60, 70, maybe even 90%, or a theoretical 100% in the future, then how well I can shift from one style in battle to another also increases. Then, the day that I can use them all seamlessly and form a unique Style of my own will be in reach."

Leonel smiled. This was what he wanted. A fusion of instinctual combat given by individual Classes and his mind's calculative abilities. The results would definitely be beyond imagination.

"Hm? We're out of this hive."