Dimensional Descent

Leonel knew what he was missing, and that was Dream Runes.

The reason he had been able to make the horned dragon so powerful was precisely because he had so many formed Runes for his Scarlet Star Force Stars. Leonel knew that if he wanted the strength and stamina necessary to succeed in his plan, he would need more Dream Force than he currently had, and much more powerful Dream Force at that.

Under normal circumstances there was nothing that he could do about this. After all, though his mind was technically in the Seventh Dimension thanks to his Starry Tailed Fox Lineage Factor, it was shackled by his mind to too great of an extent.

If he wanted to mitigate this weakness, he could rely on his body. It was too weak of a vessel.

The first possibility was to bring his Metal Body to the Sixth Dimension as well, that would likely help strengthen his mind once more. But Leonel knew that this increase wouldn't' be as exaggerated as his initial breakthrough. Whether it was body or mind, neither was as important as a fundamental change to your Nodes.

Now, however, there was another path for him to take, and that was to comprehend Dream Runes.

Leonel felt that his Dream affinity was so high that so long as he meditated in silence for two weeks, he would be able to reach his goals, but he simply didn't have that kind of time left. Aina's words had been a great warning to him.

If any other Sixth Dimensional existence said they couldn't sense the limits of an old monster like Ophelia, it only made sense. But when someone with such high Life Force affinity said it, it was a different matter entirely.

There likely weren't any tricks Leonel could pull off to deal with Ophelia, that meant that the only option to not step foot out of this city at all. But in order to do that, he needed a short cut to comprehend his Dream Runes, and he had just found it.

Under the astonished gazes of those watching, right in the middle of the shop, Leonel sat cross legged.

Aina didn't say a word and simply watched over him as the book began to rise and flip before him.

Leonel sunk into a state of meditation almost instantly. Right then, three silvery Star projected out from his body, growing so large and all encompassing that the building began to sway.

Avras, who was still whispering calming words to Ophelia in hopes that she would remain calm, almost shot out of his seat again.

When he saw the Dream Force Stars, he almost choked on air. From the beginning until now, Leonel had never manifested even a single one of his Stars, but suddenly seeing it before them all now, Avras felt like he couldn't breathe properly.

And right then, for the very first time, Ophelia's expression also changed, her eyes widening and her heart skipping a beat.

…

Leonel had no idea the kind of commotion he had just caused, but he was already in a state of incomparable focus. He muttered the mantra of the booklet, his comprehension of [Dimensional Cleanse] making it far easier for him to grasp.

The book used a concept that he was already familiar with: Auspicious Air. This Auspicious Air, in particular, seemed capable of calling forth an especially focused mind toward Dream Force in particular. It made the vague outline of Runes you could sense when you absorbed Force feel all the more real and tangible.

In just a few seconds, all three of Leonel's Stars had formed their base Star Runes. And, as though a snowball gathering momentum down a hill, they began to accumulate faster and faster.

With every stroke, Leonel's mind became clearer, his mind faster, and his thoughts sharper. His consciousness became stronger and the vague awakening of his soul that he had experienced so long ago now only became more prominent.

Leonel quickly formed nine base Runes and they fused into one. Without even a breath to pause, another set of nine formed creating two Great Runes, then three, then four. When nine were formed, the Great Runes fused once again.

The sharper Leonel's mind became, the quicker his lips moved and the faster the Great Runes accumulated.

Aina's expression flickered. Although she couldn't quite understand what was happening, her heart raced completely out of control.

There was a feeling weighing down on her, a feeling of such overwhelming familiarity that her eyes began to water beside themselves. She couldn't seem to control it at all, and the tears only came faster. However, she also didn't want to blink, as though if she did, she would suddenly miss everything.

And it was exactly then that it happened once more.

SNAP!

The sound echoed throughout the world, even more forceful than the last. Many felt their eardrums pop, their ears beginning to leak blood and, in the worst cases, flesh.

Avras and Ophelia's expression changed once again, but this time it had very little to do with Leonel, or so they thought.

Their heads snapped in a certain direction and without hesitation, they both shot forward, Ophelia's speed so fast that she left a blazing trail to her back, leaving Avras in her dust.

However, despite this, Avras didn't even have the time to smile bitterly, he could only urge himself forward even faster.

Not long after the two vanished, the Pavilion Head of the Star Force Pavilion and others in the know also shot out, leaving streaking meteors in the skies. It was as though what was happening in the city no longer mattered at all.

Leonel's brows remained relaxed, one Rune after another forming in quick succession. He didn't feel a bottleneck come any time.

Over a thousand Runes had already formed and the number only kept growing, shooting over the 6000 Rune mark and surpassing his Scarlet Star Force and becoming the first to form nine Grand Runes.

However, even then, it didn't slow. In fact, it didn't slow until Leonel had formed 59 049 Runes, fusing them into nine Exalted Runes. Only then did he finally run into a bottleneck he couldn't push past.

But those who understood Runes and how they function understood just what this meant.

Nine Exalted Runes. This was the pinnacle of the Seventh Dimension.

Leonel's eyes opened and he snatched the booklet out of the air.

"How long has it been?" Leonel asked, feeling that his sense of time had distorted.

"Three hours," Aina replied.

"Alright, let's go claim the Top Prize and go to the Fiend Class Sector. Then… We can get out of here."