Dimensional Descent

Leonel woke up and stretched.

With light steps, he hopped out of bed and began his revamped flexibility routine. This version was much less embarrassing than the former, but Leonel still preferred to do it alone.

The Luxnix were natural healers, so the techniques they had in this regard were extensive and well thought out. Compared to the techniques of Valiant Heart Mountain, they were by far and away better. They couldn’t even be considered to be in the same league.

Leonel wanted to focus on not just flexibility, but power in his flexibility. The importance of that would be his ability to apply strength in positions most could not.

For example, in a deep squat where ones bottom nearly touched the ground. Most couldn’t even get into such a position to begin with, at least not without their heels coming off of the ground. But, even those that could reach such a position, how much weight could they push?

Depending on the depth of a squat, the max weight that could be pushed varied along a predictable slope. What Leonel wanted to was eliminate this weakness as much as he could, and to do so with every similar type of movement as well.

To perfectly fuse flexibility and power, that was his ultimate goal and he was well on his way.

Leonel jumped to his feet and felt like a spring was coiled within his body. His joints felt good, his ligaments and tendons felt smooth, and his muscles felt explosive. Better yet, his mind was in its prime. Every breath of air felt fresh and beautiful.

’Time to go.’

Leonel slipped on a pair of sweatpants and a crisp T-shirt. He no longer bothered with shoes these days as his body was already stronger than any shoe sole to begin with. On top of that, using his own two feet not only made him more sensitive to certain changes, but Leonel also felt more flexible in his movements.

He smiled lightly to himself, running his fingers through his pale violet hair.

’Today should be fun.’

**

The young geniuses of Earth, though they had mostly failed in the first day, still came out to support in full force during the second day. Not only were they here in solidarity, but they also wanted to see the true extent of prowess the geniuses of the Sector had to offer. Like this, they would know exactly how much further they had to go.

The boys seemed intent on watching Leonel from time to time, almost as if to check if he was truly okay. None of them knew what happened at the Viola estate a few days prior, but they believed that Aina had likely gotten married.

Still, Leonel continued to act the same way he always had. He laughed and joked with the others as though this matter truly had nothing to do with him. This allowed them and Leonel’s grandmother to sigh a breath of relief.

There were many people who would bloviate and draw a line on their self worth. But, when push came to shove, they would still allow others to steam roll over them. At least for now, it seemed that Leonel had not regretted his decision and could still function happily.

What they didn’t notice, though, was that Leonel had raised an internal eyebrow upward.

Due to his plan to deal with Aina’s father, Leonel had split much of his attention to focus on the arena and its people. He not only needed to locate him, but he also needed to find the opportune moment to act.

Miel hadn’t been among the Viola family members previously, so Leonel was effectively scanning the whole arena for someone who should match his description. Leonel was certain that he would have red hair and eyes. In addition, he should have an energy signature similar to that of the other Brazingers he had met.

But, what Leonel didn’t expect was the oddity of the arena.

For one, there were far too many people on high alert as though they were waiting for the other foot to drop. They were either whispering amongst themselves, looking toward the entrances, or even muttering to themselves.

Secondly, the Montex family region seemed to have several individuals walking on pins and needles. Many of them had nervous or fidgeting expressions that only calmed after they reached the arena. But, even then, the elders all seemed to have heavy looks on their faces.

And lastly… the Viola family region which should have been filled to the brim was decidedly… empty?

Leonel narrowed his eyes. It couldn’t have been more obvious to him that something big had happened. There was no way that the Viola would miss such an opportunity. And, considering the relaxed air and smiles around the Luxnix family, he had a guess as to what might have happened as well.

’A grand event like a wedding is indeed a good chance to catch a family of such great stature off guard. The Luxnix have been biding their time for three generations so maybe they thought this was the perfect opportunity.

’But what does this mean for Aina’s father? He was their Vassal, so he probably had to fight as well. If he died, did the tablet fall into the hands of the Luxnix?’

This was possible, probable, even. If it was true, it would make things a lot more complicated. Rather than defeating one person, he would have to deal with a whole family, all while trying to outpace what growth they’d have with a tablet. That would be a tall mountain to climb.

Leonel had hardly finished this thought when his Internal Sight flickered once more. His brows couldn’t help but furrow in slight confusion.

Aina, Savahn, Yuri and Miel were right there, seated together along with the commoner ranks. The only difference was that all four were wearing masks.

’Did they manage to escape? Never mind, this is a good thi—’

Leonel’s pupils constricted.

Aina who had been focused on the arena, her hands gripped together, suddenly snapped her head in the direction of Earth’s people. Leonel’s back was facing her as he didn’t need to look with his eyes to use his Internal Sight. But, that didn’t stop her from doing so at all.

’She… sensed my Internal Sight?’

Leonel didn’t get a chance to process this before Orinik flickered and appeared. He clearly had no intention of waiting for the Viola.

”The rules have already been explained. Day two will be a round robin style tournament. Your performance will be vetted to decide upon the third and final day. The billboard will decide your groups.”

The flickering of the board began. There were only 300 individuals who made it past the first day and each round robin group would have 20 individuals. It also seemed that due to the fact these groups were smaller this time, all 15 groups would be going at the same time.

Leonel looked up to spot his number, only for his eyes to narrow even further.

Though there were no names, Leonel’s memory was simply too good. Of the 300 participating, he knew the numbers of them all. Even if he didn’t, he could recognize the energy signature of the Force that made up their numbers…

In his group…

1 – Leonel Morales

2 – Higlis Montex

…

7 – Isac Arundo

…

13 – Rychard Viola

…

17 – Syllar Luxnix

…

20 – Aina Brazinger.