Dimensional Descent

Vivak had tried to kill Leonel and his cousin in the past. That wasn’t something that could be easily forgiven, but this time, Leonel had chosen to let things slide.

After the change to his Dream Force Path, Leonel was always making conscious efforts to find a balance between doing what was smart and what was right.

Throwing his wife in the line of fire for him was a step too far, however him taking an insult on the chin was not.

He had to Respect the world he was in and realize that he couldn’t do everything alone. He had to lean on others when given the opportunity to.

If he acted on impulse and just slaughtered the entire upper echelon of the Godlen family, what then?

Well, he’d have to find people to replace those leaders, or he’d have to do it himself. He wouldn’t have the heart of the people and who knew how many would choose to act like Goggles did? And what could the remaining Godlens who chose to bury a grudge deep within their hearts, waiting for the perfect time to strike?

Acting as he pleased felt good in the moment, but it was ultimately never the best thing to do.

He would have to settle for making this father uncomfortable and forcing him to sit with his inferiority. As for the rest, it would come in due time.

Sometimes, it was enough to take a win at face value and not chase for more.

“Alright, let’s go Eamon. You’ve been working hard, you should take a rest.”

Eamon smiled. “All of this is fun. I’ve never cared about much other than Crafting, and since I’ve decided to move on from other things, this will always be what’s more important to me.”

Leonel looked over toward him and nodded.

It was good to have a purpose in life, it could help drive you. But he had seen enough from his future self to know that that alone wasn’t nearly enough.

However, just telling Eamon that wouldn’t change anything. He had to show him.

The two returned to the Dream Pavilion and the Segmented Cube, enjoying another round of bonding. Leonel allowed Eamon to get acquainted with everyone before he slipped away.

Leonel soon found a familiar young man, still swinging a sword. His long black hair cascaded down his back and despite the speed with which he was swinging the thick, wooden sword, there wasn’t even the slightest whistle of wind following its stroke.

“Still not going to join?” Leonel spoke out.

Amery was startled, and when he saw that it was Leonel, his gaze was filled with a hidden gloominess.

The last time Leonel came here, he couldn’t sneak up on him. In fact, he had noticed Leonel immediately. But now…

How was this possible? He never missed a single second of training and he was constantly chasing perfection. How could Leonel still improve so much faster than himself?

He looked down at his sword and closed his eyes.

Swinging a sword alone wasn’t enough. He needed battle, he needed blood, he wanted to leave and go off on his own adventures…

But was that even possible anymore?

Even if he set aside whether Leonel would allow him such a chance, what would he do as a human in that cruel world? Would he be able to succeed in much of anything? Or would he end up as some bastard’s slave the moment he stepped into the wrong neighborhood?

“Soon, the Human Bubbles will stabilize and they’ll need help bringing the Demon Bubbles into subservience. That will be a good chance for you to hone your skill. I will let you know when the time comes.”

Leonel turned and left.

Whether it was Kira or Noah, both of them had begun integrating much more. The last person he was worried about was his cousin, Fifth Nova. He was maybe even more reclusive than Amery, but just as he was about to check on him, his eyes narrowed.

Leonel stepped out of the Segmented Cube, finding faces that were both familiar and unfamiliar in the skies.

Among them, there was a particularly wizard-like man, one that Leonel remembered pointing out.

Gemmes.

These were none other than the Dream Force experts that had escaped when the Challenge Sequence began, feeling that it would be a hopeless cause.

These cowards had actually taken more than two years to muster up the courage to come back, something that was amusing in and of itself. But it was even funnier when you realized that if not for all the large movements the Godlens were making, they still wouldn’t have dared to come.

In the minds of these cowards, it was so far out of the possibility of reason for Leonel to have won, that there was almost certainly something they were missing. Most probably thought the Dream Pavilion had already been taken over by another Race, it was just that this Race didn’t care enough to interact with the rest of the Human Worlds, and why would they? The Dream Pavilion alone was practically a whole world. They didn’t need to step outside.

At most, the fact there was no news only made them wonder, but not enough to actually risk themselves by coming back.

But then the Gathering of Kingdoms happened and there was oddly still no culling waiting for them. That was a second oddity that made them pause.

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And then, finally, there was the Gathering of Minds and the actions of the Godlens. Only then did they finally gather up their balls and return.To their surprise, there really was no one but humans here, many of whom they didn’t recognize because Leonel had only recently recruited them, but this was still firmly a human stronghold.

Gemmes was the first to notice Leonel’s arrival. He stood high in the air above Leonel and frowned. He still didn’t understand what was going on here.

“Who is the current-“

Leonel picked at his ears. “Shut up.”