Dimensional Descent

Leonel felt his strength sore. Beneath his closed eyelids, his eyes flickered with all sorts of colors and even his hair began to dance with a mysterious light. 

Leonel's skin shimmered like polished metal even beneath the dim lights of his private room. 

When his eyes opened, though, his gaze was surprisingly calm, albeit far deeper. Looking at the emptiness in front of him, Leonel sighed. Improving his Metal Body was definitely not cheap. 

And, even though now he could probably swipe at the air and make more Ores, that obviously took stamina. How foolish would it be for him to sap his energy just to gain more energy? Though, it might be useful in battle to heal himself. But, even then, it would be better if he just carried around a store of these Ores for those kind of situations. 

The cost effectiveness of creating these Ores wasn't worth it. However, if it was a matter of using them in a strong attack or defense, that was a different matter entirely. 

The new Mage Arts Leonel wanted to create would be centered around these Ores. This was why he hadn't gone out of his way to start formulating new Mage Arts on the level of the Fourth Dimension just yet. Only this way would he be able to maximize his strength. 

'It seems that now is a perfect time to take Aina's advice and visit the Valiant Hall training rooms. Maybe I can finally get something out of this organization then. But first…'

Leonel took out a familiar ring. But, he was instantly surprised by the feeling he had when he rolled it in his palm. 

'It feels… different?'

Leonel was certain that this ring hadn't changed at all. His Dream Sculpt made sure that he wouldn't make such a mistake and he had long since stored this mysterious ring into his Dreamscape. So, the difference was definitely not due to a change in the ring itself, but most definitely a change in Leonel. 

'So it's like this…'

Leonel's eyes glowed. 

The moment he touched the ring, he pinpointed many things. 

First, it was made of Fifth Dimensional Ores. Second, it was formed of seven different types of Ores on this level. Third, he was able to pick out the exact Ores used with a simple touch. Fourth, he was even able to see through some of the smelting and Crafting processes the ring had undergone. 

Leonel felt like if he were to Dream Sculpt the ring now, it would take him a fraction of the time it did before. 

What was shocking about this change wasn't the information, because Leonel's Dream Sculpt had long since informed him of all of this. What was shocking about it was that the information had been transmitted to him in a completely new way. 

Leonel was certain. His Earth Affinity had taken a massive leap forward. He had neglected such a simple thing. 

As Leonel refined his Metal Body, it seemed that his Earth affinity would also increase. But, this increase was far more than what Leonel was expecting. The only explanation, then… was the synergy between his Metal Body and his Mage Core. 

At this moment, Leonel felt that he had the equivalent Earth affinity to a Morales family genius who had stepped into Tier 9 of their Fourth Dimensional Metal Body. And the feeling was like standing high up on the clouds. 

Before, Leonel could only control a ten meter range of space in this Fifth Dimensional world. But now, he felt that controlling even a hundred meters wouldn't pose much of an issue. 

Leonel took a deep breath and cleared his mind. Now wasn't the time to get engrossed in such things. 

"What is this ring?" Leonel finally asked. 

[ *Ping* ] 

[ Replying to Seed, it is a key ]

Leonel raised his eyebrows. 

"A key to what?"

The dictionary didn't respond. Leonel had experienced this once before in the Camelot Zone. It seemed that the dictionary didn't know the answer to this. Though the dictionary somehow knew about the Oryx and their Hyper Evolution, but not about this, Leoenl wasn't too surprised. 

From Leonel's understanding, the dictionary didn't 'know' anything like one might expect a database to. In fact, Leonel was certain that the only 'data' within the dictionary were the messages left by his father and his lesson plans. Aside from this, everything else the dictionary 'knew' was based on deductions and scans. 

If it couldn't scan something to understand it, then it wouldn't have an answer. 

Leonel was quite astonished when he came to this conclusion because it meant that his father managed to create a device that was even better than his ability at doing what his ability was meant to do. 

Shaking his head, Leonel recollected himself. 

"Where are the engravings from?"

[ *Ping* ] 

[ Engravings are from a language not yet evolved ] 

Leonel's pupils constricted. At that moment, he understood. 

A language not yet evolved? That meant that this language already existed, but it had not gained the dialects or quirks of the engravings placed on the ring. 

The ring deduced that there was a language similar enough to these engravings, but not similar enough that they could be called the same. Almost like a comparison between English and Old English. 

That could only mean one thing: This ring was from the future. 

It sounded absolutely ridiculous when Leonel put the only logical deduction into tangible thought. But, often times, the things that less intelligent people couldn't accept were things that those who were could easily. 

How difficult the concept was to accept didn't matter. All that mattered was that it was the only logical conclusion. As long as this was true, Leonel didn't care even if the dictionary told him that this ring was his son. He would accept it. 

What he needed to focus on was not how ridiculous the conclusion was, but rather on how to make it make sense. This was what separated the laymen from the experts. 

And for that, Leonel already had an answer. In fact, he thought of it almost instantly to the point it made the original premise far easier to accept. 

This ring. It was from a Variant Zone. 

The only questions that were remaining was if this ring was from the Valiant Heart Variant Zone or another. And… How the hell had 'Senior' Lu of all people, gotten his hands on it?