Dimensional Descent

Leonel smiled, feeling that Joel’s question wasn’t as simple as it seemed. It was almost like the latter was testing something.

“Well, that would depend on you, now wouldn’t it?”

“How would your opinion depend on me?”

“I think you know.”

“Still the same Leonel,” Joel said, shaking his head.

Indeed, the changes to Leonel were a bit subtle. He seemed more expressive than usual. No, he seemed more expressive than he had been originally. The Leonel of Royal Blue Academy was a lot more like this.

It was enough that Joel was a bit skeptical of what was going on. The fact that Leonel was giving him a choice and not just telling him what to do was the most baffling. Since when did Leonel do that?

The last time they had a session like this wasn’t long after Aina left for Planet Viola. Back then, Leonel had just told them all directly what to do. This time, though… it was very different.

“Just checking to make sure you didn’t have a brain worm.”

Leonel grinned.

“I assume that this choice is pretty straightforward. Absorbing it now will give me a more immediate strength increase, but waiting and comprehending it on my own will give me more potential in the future. I choose the first.”

Leonel smiled, he didn’t question Joel’s decision. Of his brothers, Joel was without a doubt the most insightful. Although Allan was the smartest and the closest in intelligence to himself, that was more so toward the physical sciences and mathematics. When it came to people or reading social situations, he was very much lacking.

Joel hadn’t chosen the option with seemingly less potential out of frustration or anything of the like. Rather, he read the situation quite well. Whatever this ability was, Leonel had only gotten his hands on it recently. By all rights, just like Leonel’s advice for them had changed since back then, it would change again into the future. Leonel would likely also have changes in philosophy and gain more from the Silver Tablet than even what he had now.

By then, even if he chose the path of greater potential now, the difference would be marginal as he benefited more and more from Leonel’s breakthroughs.

In fact, if picking to fuse with it was so detrimental to him, Leonel would have made a note of it. It was more likely that while it would be more difficult to comprehend by directly absorbing it, it wouldn’t be impossible either.

Without hesitation, Joel took the Glaive Domain Lineage Factor and absorbed it, sensing the changes within himself.

“Here,” Leonel tossed the ring over. “There are many glaives within that can help your insights, but be sure to be careful as you progress. I had to remove some corruption aspects of the Lineage Factor before I gave it to you. It’s possible that there might be some more lingering traps within.”

Joel nodded solemnly before going off to focus. He didn’t want to waste any time, as curious as he was about everyone else’s improvement.

“Alright, James, after thorough analysis, the evidence is conclusive.”

James wore a rare serious expression as he waited. It was clear that this would decide a lot of his future.

“You’re a useless blockhead.”

James was stunned for a moment before he recovered to everyone’s laughter.

“You son of a bitch, and here I was being serious for once.”

Leonel grinned. “I’m only telling the truth. You focused so much on your Lineage Factor that you’ve neglected other things.

“Milan, by comparison, focused so much on his Ability Index that he has no other supplemental skills to go along with it. The two of you could learn quite a bit from one another.”

Leonel brought out two Force Arts, swapped them, and then pressed them into the two Energy Shield users’ chests.

“Milan, I’ve given you James’ self-created Lineage Factor. As for James, I’ve passed onto you Milan’s Ability Index progression.”

James was speechless. “What kind of bs is this, this useless lug has always had a worse Ability Index than me. You’re selling my body for cheap.”

Milan, who was feeling quite happy, suddenly felt attacked.

“You tryna start something?”

“And so what if I am?”

“Alright, alright,” Leonel spoke, trying to hold back his laugh. “While your Ability Index used to be stronger than Milan’s, that’s no longer the case.

“You stagnated due to your focus on the Nullification Tier, but above the Nullification Tier there’s still the Reflection and Amplification stages. Milan is a step beyond you and has grasped Reflection.”

“See that? Be a little more humble, shit-for-brains.”

Leonel shook his head. “But there is something to be said about how deep James comprehended his tiers. He could probably use Reflection, and maybe even Amplification if he was focused on it.”

“Isn’t Amplification a Savant tier?” Allan asked with a frown, clearly paying more attention than these two.

“It is, because James created a supplemental Lineage Factor, it’s possible for him to extend the abilities of his Ability Index into realms he would normally be unable to touch.”

Allan’s eyes lit up. That was possible too?

“I would give you two more, but I think that for now, focusing on this will help you to progress much faster. If you find a balance between your Lineage Factors and Ability Index, the benefits will be shocking.”

Leonel sent the two away and then turned his attention toward Emna.

“Emna, what terms would you use to describe your blade?”

“Sharp. Swift. Agile. Subtle.”

She spoke without hesitation. She felt far more like a soldier than a friend, but even so, Leonel was surprised by the directness of her response.

With a nod, he pressed Joel’s Sharpness Ability Index into her chest.

“For now, I do not have the others you need. But I believe that this Ability Index will be of great help to you.”

Although Leonel was still speaking, Emma seemed to have already entered her own world, a whirlwind of enlightenment turning into sharp blades that threatened to slice Leonel apart.