Dimensional Descent

They started off extremely benign to the point that many relaxed. Maybe they were overthinking things and this sudden rule change was only really a method of making sure they stayed in line.

In the past, even with rules there, with the only real punishment being confinement, many terrible people would flout them and accept the jail time. Considering they would be released for their matches, and would obviously be released after the Gathering ended, why should they care?

There were a fair share of the weak that had been directly killed for offending the wrong people or even looking at them the wrong way. The worst part was that often the people they had offended wouldn’t even act themselves. Instead, they would pay someone else to do it and take the jail time for them. Sometimes it was life-changing money on the table, so who wouldn’t jump at the chance if the only punishment was staring at four walls for a bit?

By the time they got to their level of strength, something like solitary confinement wasn’t worth too much in the grand scheme.

By the time most of the rules had been read, the crowd actually relaxed and began to feel that this was a good thing. The only people that didn’t really like it were those who were looking forward to flouting these very rules.

No combat outside of designated areas. No killing regardless of region. Property damage wouldn’t be tolerated, and unless one could pay the fee for repair, they would find themselves banished. Coercion or attempts at it were strictly prohibited. Grudges couldn’t be taken outside of the arena….

They were all normal rules… and yet Leonel could hardly stop himself from sneering as he listened to them. Even before the other foot dropped, he could find a million loopholes to these rules.

“Property Damage” had to be paid for? If two people were fighting, who would decide who had damaged what?

Coercion was banned? Who was looking? What kind of case could you even bring forward in such a case? Or if you did bring forward a good case, would you be accused of “taking grudges outside the arena”? What a vague and mind-numbingly useless rule. It could be applied so broadly and it was based almost entirely on the personal judgment of whoever was doing the judging.

But this was to be expected. It had all been a farce from the very beginning, right from the moment they took out those keys.

Those keys were what gave them the right to become members of the council. They were supposed to be so well hidden that it should have taken weeks for them all to be found. Leonel hadn’t even thought to look for them because the moment he appeared, he was beset by that damned lion, and then they met Yuri and Savahn seconds later. Then the GONGs went off. There wasn’t any time to do a thing even if he wanted to.

It was all too amusing. He felt the urge to laugh again.

He had known that this would happen, which was why he never had the intention of participating himself.

While he could control his temper and keep himself calm, swallowing the insults until he could beat the shit out of whoever slighted him in the arena… why even bother?

He didn’t have patience for it, and quite frankly he didn’t want to have the patience for it.

Then the other shoe dropped.

“… Housing is limited in the city. In past years, the first few weeks, especially while the Council Keys were being sought after, would be utter mayhem as people fought and vied for position.

“We want harmony, so housing will be decided based on strength. And since the point is to avoid pointless fighting, this strength will be decided by one’s Dimension and Force output.

“If you want to apply for housing for more than one person, your performance will be divided based on the number of people you are applying for.

“If you do not meet a certain standard of Dimension, we will have to ask you to leave and camp outside of the city. There will be tents and accommodations ready and waiting for you.”

The woman speaking had illusory wings behind her back. But rather than being real, they were most definitely a treasure. Not that most could tell at a glance.

If she wasn’t a descendant of the Owlans, Leonel probably wouldn’t believe it. But her gene pool was definitely much thinner than that of the others. It was no wonder she was participating in this event.

She was known as Lumina.

As she finished speaking, another began to. He was a Nomad with a familiar turban wrapped around his head, only providing space for his bulging Ethereal Glabella to shine through.

“As you all know, the need for privacy is a must in the city as there will often be much improvement between rounds as participants are forced to their very limits.

“As a proud user of Dream Force, I will willfully take a step back and allow a universal suppression of Dream Force within city limits.”

He was known as Caspian.

When he was finished, yet another spoke. This man was clearly a Spiritual, one that radiated a wild and boundless might. He also happened to be a man that Leonel had seen but couldn’t be bothered to give a second glance. In Leonel’s eyes, since he had appeared here, he was as good as dead.

He was the very Spiritual that stole his own father’s Innate Node.

Rhangyl.

“For the sake of more fairness,” Rhangyl began, “wagers will be removed. No longer will one be able to exchange for items and such from the outside world to do trade within the city.

“Instead, we will be implementing a social currency based on your merit and your merit alone. Everything will be decided on this form of credit.

“Starting from the first Tier of the Sixth Dimension, one will receive one credit, doubling until the peak of the Seventh Dimension.

“If you want to increase your credit, or gain them, simply wager your current credits, betting on yourself, others, testing yourselves against the various training facilities of the city, so on and so forth.

“Fair warning, though. Social credit cannot be traded amongst individuals. Once your credit hits zero, you will be out of luck and be forced to live off of what the city provides for free.”

It was a cute little rule that left Leonel with exactly zero credits and apparently no way out of it.