Dimensional Descent

Leonel tossed a piece of ore to the side, feeling a hint frustrated.

It was all completely contradictory. How could you change the molecular structure of an object, and yet have it work in the same exact way? It didn’t even make sense.

Oftentimes, when things took certain shapes, it was because it was the most optimal. Pulling it out of said shape would destabilize it or weaken it. It made otherwise strong materials brittle.

When Force was taken into account, the matter was even worse than just that. That was because one wrong move and an otherwise inner metal could, quite literally, blow up in your face, taking a hand and a layer of your skull with it.

Leonel realized that there was something that he was missing, but he couldn’t find what it was immediately. All the explanations in the world couldn’t substitute a certain feel a Crafter had to have for his Craft, and he wasn’t quite getting it.

He felt that a portion of the reason was actually his education on Earth. His understanding of chemical bones, atoms and the like were built and shaped on Earth. Even when he learned about Force later, he just kind of retrofitted it into the things he already knew and understood.

Now, it was hard to unsee it. It was like an optical illusion casting a shadow over his mind, and it was also a feeling that he was completely… unused to.

With his Ability Index, he had perfect control of his mind. Something like casting a thought away or shifting his perspective was easy.

For others, saying “think outside the box” was easier said that done, but Leonel could, quite literally, do it.

Except in this case for some reason.

Every time he tried to cast away his foundational knowledge about atoms and their interactions with one another, he would begin tinkering with the Ores and he would end up deducing it again.

It was almost like he was using a Forgetful Orb and reaffirming the same comprehension again and again rather than learning something new.

And that could only mean one thing… Earth’s approach to chemical theory and the atom was correct. There was nothing else to deduce to because the foundation was mostly correct.

But then how could these two things be true?

How could he both be expected to change the chemical structure of something and yet have it maintain the same properties?

‘That doesn’t even make sense… even when changing phases, there’s a difference. Ice has a lattice structure that water simply does not. Even if they share the same molecule, they don’t have the same structure. Carbon is the same, it’s still carbon, but how could you say that graphite and diamond are that same?’ Leonel’s eyes narrowed.

Was it that simple? Was that what he was missing?

‘No… that should only be part of it… But it is an important part…’

The other portion was the actual Force Art. It was the main root of Leonel’s troubles.

To draw a Force Art into an ore’s chemical structure was like completely rewiring a house to fit a flowery picture instead of what was practical. None of the lights and appliances would work properly.

But then he remembered something else. Force Arts came in all shapes and sizes, there were probably a million different languages. Each of these languages was good at something different and there didn’t seem to be any one that was universally perfect at completing all tasks.

It was then that Leonel’s first thoughts and this one came together.

Maybe his views of Force Arts were just too rigid. He was using the Morales Force Arts much like he usually did when he was Crafting, but why was that?

Depending on the complexity of the Force Art, he had always been able to take a casual glance at it and understand what it did-and that was regardless of whether he had ever seen the language before or not.

It was a lot like actual language, the kind people used to speak. With his Dream Force, he could feel the intention of the speaker and translate whatever words came out with ease. He no longer needed to take his time and observe a language for a while before he could translate it like he could in the past.

In that case… why did he restrict himself to a Force Art language at all? In fact, he bet his father didn’t use the Morales Force Art language either, at least not as it was constructed.

It could be the case that a large part of his slow progress in this world was because he was restricted to an Incomplete World’s Force Art Language. Or, more accurately, he had restricted himself to it.

What if he could change his Force Art language depending on the material he was working with?

And a step further than that, he was so obsessed with chemical structures, but he had missed the forest for the trees.

What decided the outward appearance of Ores wasn’t just the structure…

What decided whether Carbon atoms formed graphite versus diamond? Wasn’t it just temperature and pressure?

In wider Existence, the added element of Force meant that there were other material forces outside of the norm that could influence the structure of a bond.

If he fused these two concepts together…

‘I can master Complexity in less than three days…’ Leonel’s eyes blazed with a light of excitement. At this level, he would be able to crush King.

…

Aina’s victories came in continuous avalanches. She didn’t find an opponent that intrigued her like the Luck of the Draw Ability Index user had, so she always ended her battles in a single strike, and oftentimes her opponent wouldn’t even have the luxury of surviving. In fact, she never even pulled out her Battle Ax again.

Very quickly, her long, flowing black hair and piercing golden eyes seemed to be ingrained within the hearts of all those spectating.

She was on a level all her own.