Dimensional Descent

"What do you see?"

Leonel looked over toward Aina, a bit curious. She had already received a Gold Tablet, so Leonel wanted to know what else this system would deem appropriate for her.

"I see another Gold Tablet, but I don't think I really need this one."

Leonel blinked. "Are you just saying that? Or do you really not need it?"

Leonel looked at her skeptically. Just from the small bit he understood about these weird Tablets, they were all incredibly valuable in one way or another. He felt that she was just saying so to make sure that he didn't sacrifice another opportunity to her.

"No, really," Aina laughed. "It's about Force Pill Crafting and methods on how to do so, but I don't really need those kinds of constraints. I trained under a master in Valiant Heart Mountain, but I didn't like the experience very much. In fact, I felt it restricted what I could do the moment I got bogged down by convention and rules. I feel freer to do as I please when I don't have to worry about restraints like that at all."

Leonel nodded, believing what Aina was saying. She had, indeed, not tried to find another master since leaving Valiant Heart Mountain. In fact, if not for his plans to deal with the Green Thread Faction, she wouldn't have even bothered to go and register with their Force Pill Faction.

Aina's Ability Index had always been enigmatic to Leonel. It didn't appear in any of the records of the Dimensional Verse, so he assumed it had to be a Unique Ability Index that hadn't appeared before.

What was truly odd about it was that it was hard to tell where her Ability Index ended and where her Blood Sovereign abilities began, or if they were one in the same or separate. It also made it especially difficult because her Brazinger family Lineage Factor also seemed to fuse so well with it as well.

Leonel had realized long ago that this was actually why Aina was so powerful. Not only were her individual abilities powerful on their own, but their synergy was on a completely different level. Unlike Leonel who had many powerful abilities that weren't very related to one another at all, even if you told Leonel that Aina actually had just a single ability that manifested in different ways, he just might believe it.

The way Leonel saw it, Aina's Ability Index was her subconscious understanding of her body that could translate to a conscious control of it. This allowed her to understand exactly how to train, and it was also rooted in a sensitivity to Life Force.

Her Blood Sovereignty gave her control over Blood Force which was the perfect conduit for Life Force which was often inaccessible to most. In addition, it multiplied Life Force affinity in addition to allowing the sensitive control she had over her own Life Force to extend to her mind and its coercive effects at the same time.

The cherry on top was her Brazinger family Lineage Factor, Berserk God, which was once again rooted in an instinctual control of the body. This came with great bodily strength, Battle Sense, Rebirth and an innate affinity for all weapons.

When these things came together, it was easy to mistake the effect of one for the other. But it was also precisely because of this that their combined effects were so great.

Leonel also had the feeling that Aina had just scratched the surface of her potential. Her most powerful ability was probably her Blood Sovereignty just judging by how much people seemed to want to get at her for it. But it was also the ability she avoided using the most likely because of those very same reasons.

Now, however, she had all the reason in the world to dive head first into this new world. And, she had even less to worry about with Leonel by her side.

"Really, go ahead!" Aina pushed Leonel forward.<novelnext></novelnext>

"Okay, okay! I believe you."

Leonel laughed and snatched the Silver Tablet that was ahead, claiming the Top Prize for himself.

He felt an exceptionally strong urge overwhelm him the moment he touched it, it was even stronger than when he picked up the Bronze Tablet. His Starry Tailed Fox Lineage Factor seemed to want to evolve.

However, Leonel was very reluctant. The Starry Spirit Domain was far too useful to him, and the next Lineage Factor was the Twinkling Light Bear, which was a lot like the White Stone Elephant in that it focused greatly on strength rather than the mind and speed.

Of course, it had a Wisdom Branch as well, but unless Leonel took time to meditate on the Tablet, he couldn't guarantee what the effects of this new Lineage Factor would be.

Although an Eighth Dimensional Lineage Factor sounded far better than a Seventh Dimensional one, if it didn't fit well with his battle style, it could instead be a detriment.

The Starry Tailed Fox could have actually been a regression for him since he didn't have the matching techniques. But, because it synergized so well with his Ability Index, the benefits had far outweighed the drawbacks.

However, there was no telling if the Twinkling Light Bear would give him the same benefits.

Leonel carefully put the Silver Tablet away. As far as he saw it, if he was going to take the chance to take on a new Lineage Factor, he would choose the dark attributes first, at least they shouldn't interfere with his current abilities.

At the same time, though, something was nagging at the back of Leonel's mind.

All of these Tablets carried techniques and were a lot like his Luxnix family's Bronze Tablet. But, why was it that they didn't even seem to be in the same realm as the Silver Tablet he received from the Valiant Heart Zone?

The gap felt impossibly large.

One could break through bottlenecks, break the fundamental laws of physics that governed the world, and even resurrect the dead…

And the others seemed capable of… Passing down techniques? Even if the techniques and Lineage Factors were powerful, it felt far too lacking in comparison.

What was he missing here?