Dimensional Descent

The 10 all rounders were, of course, the 10 who stood before him. Their abilities separated from the unclassifiable abilities in that they had several strong points rather than one odd strong point. 

For example, among the 74, there was a young woman with an ability similar to King Arthur’s. Except, rather than become streams of light, she became an odd liquid thicker than water. She could also coat her skin and her surroundings with this liquid to form a pseudo-domain of sorts that worked well for her. 

But, in a team battle, her uses were minimal. The defensive nature of her ability was only useful for her and couldn’t truly be extended to others. At the same time, she wasn’t a very good attacker either. In fact, she was weak in this regard. 

That said, if her ability was applied well, she would be among the strongest single combatants. Just trying to deal with her domain without slipping about wildly would be a headache even for Leonel. If he was in such a situation, he would be forced to use his surfboard and bombard her with arrows from above. He would stand little chance in normal hand to hand combat. 

However, the 10 youths that stood before Leonel were much different in this regard. 

Take Nile, for example. 

Nile seemed to have a short ranged teleportation ability. If not for this, how could he have possibly intercepted Leonel on his way to Noah back then? But, his ability was actually more complex than this. It could be used not only to enhance his speed, but also in defense and attacking. 

He was able to displace not only himself in space, but also his spear and attacks aimed toward him.

Of course, his manipulation of the extremely rare Space Force Strengthening Deviation was limited. But it was still among the reasons he was one of the most powerful combatants here. If it wasn’t because he had faced Leonel, he wouldn’t have lost so swiftly. 

With his ability alone, Nile could easily take responsibility for the safety of a ten man party without hindering the abilities of those who were a part of his squad. This was the fundamental difference between him and the young girl. 

“Since things are like this, I’ll organize you as follows. 

“The speed types will form eight squads of two to three. Your roles will be to maintain a perimeter around our troops in eight directions and disrupting any forward momentum of any enemies you might run across. As for communication and the method of disruption, leave that to me. 

“The remaining 200 or so of you, not including sensory types, healing types, or all rounders, will form into squads of 10. The make up of these squads will be three shield warriors, formed of either a defensive type or a body enhancement type, three assault units, formed of attack types and Force Strengthening Deviation types, and finally four unique ability types.

“You ten all rounders, you will take the lead of two of these ten man squads each. 

“The remaining 20 of you, 7 healers and 13 sensory types will be responsible for both relaying my orders and maintaining the peak condition of the troop. Communication will be key.”

Leonel spoke all of these matters out in a single breath, not wasting any time. However, the youths before him couldn’t help but wonder if Noah had given him information about them before… 

But, when they thought about how Leonel had randomly chosen them and how he hadn’t seemed to be aware of the fact he would be gaining such troops to command before hand, they couldn’t help but be astonished. 

Could this be his ability? Or was it a treasure of some kind?

What they didn’t know was that it could technically be both for Leonel. He could use the dictionary to learn of their abilities. But, after the upgrade to his own, he found that making accurate guesses of the abilities of others had become much easier. 

Though he couldn’t claim to comprehend as much detail as the dictionary had, it was definitely far less hazy than the past. 

Of course, he also saw that the more powerful the ability wielded by a person, the harder it was for him to see through it. But, this much was already far better than what most could accomplish. Leonel was definitely in a league of his own in this regard. 

Soon, Leonel had finished organizing the army and he walked up to Nile. 

“How much of your strength can you display right now?”

Pale faced, Nile still stood at attention. There wasn’t a hint of hatred for Leonel in his eye. In fact, it now held the same respect it had for Noah. However, it was hard to tell if this was because Leonel had defeated him so easily, or if it was because he now knew that Leonel was a Prince. 

It could only be said that if it was the latter… the brainwashing of The Empire was truly something to behold. 

“I can display about 20% of my strength, Your Highness.” Nile replied seriously. 

Leonel’s eyes sparkled. He hadn’t asked this question because he wanted to know, but rather because he wanted to probe Nile’s attitude. Seeing it, even he couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty. 

Golden lights surged around Leonel and descended upon Nile. The accumulation of Light Elemental Force was so strong that it practically became blinding. 

Very quickly, Nile’s face became more ruddy, his shallow breathing becoming deep and full once again. 

Under the shocked gazes of those spectating, Nile’s state continuously became better.

When Leonel lowered his hand, though Nile wasn’t back to peak condition, he was clearly much better. It wouldn’t be an issue for him to display 80% of his strength. 

Nile’s eyes widened. “Thank you, Your Highness!”

Leonel smiled and waved a hand. 

“I won’t apologize for what I did because that would be hypocritical. Truthfully, if you stood in my way again, I would treat you the same way.”

Nile paled somewhat hearing these words but he inwardly felt more respect for Leonel after hearing them. He didn’t want to be treated like a dog who could be coddled with a carrot and a stick. He wasn’t a person that a bad guy, good guy routine could work on. Such a thing would only be effective for those who were weak of mind. 

“But, those are matters of the past. We all have the same goal right now, and that’s to repel these invaders.”

Nile nodded seriously, his back standing somewhat straighter. 

“From now on, don’t call me Your Highness or Prince, call me Captain. What I value most are two things: Respect and Persistence. 

“Respect for your fellow man and woman. Give everything you have to them and prepare to receive everything they have in return. 

“Persist for your fellow warriors. Give everything you have and expect nothing.”

Leonel scanned the organized group of youths before him, his aura towering. He looked more like a sturdy pillar, prepared to hold up even the skies rather than a simple young man. 

The blood of the youths involuntarily boiled. From indifference, their faces somewhat reddened, their hearts beating a step faster. 

Respect with your all and expect everything. Persist with your all and expect nothing. 

Respect was a mindset. Persistence was an action. The meaning of it all was simple.

If you gave your heart and bled on the battlefield, it was only right that you expect the same.

If you gave your soul and died on the battlefield, it was only right you expect nothing. 

These words were suddenly engraved onto their souls.