Dimensional Descent

“Welcome to the challenge round. You have all made it to the top four and should be proud,” Minerva said lightly. “According to tradition, this challenge round wouldn’t normally end in a ranking. Often, it was an arena to settle unresolved differences between Craftsmen from the round of debates, and also a method of exchanging treasures.

“In order to accommodate a ranking, we will make some changes, the first of which is introducing a baseline of treasure.

“Right now, the four of you have earned your top ten placement. As a reminder, this means that you all have earned the Mind Splitting Rune of the top 1000, the Spirit Elevating Force Herb of the top 100, and the Creation Grade Ore and Eighth Order Standard Blueprint of the top 10.

“The lowest tier prize will represent one point, the second will represent three points, and the final two will represent five.

“Any treasures you all bring forward will be ranked on this same scale as well, however you will all start with a total of 28 points. Of course, you will not actually place these treasures on the line, they will be more like vouchers. However, any additional treasures you bring forward will be put on the line.

“As you know, the top three reward, the Ninth Order Standard Blueprint and the Ninth Order Workbench, personally forged by me, is exactly that… a reward reserved for the top three. However, there are four groups of you, so if you would like it, or the top one prize beyond it… it will be dependent on your efforts.

“Now, for the nitty gritty.

“One, even if you have more points than the person in question, you cannot force them to match your points. If you enter a challenge sequence with a higher ranked treasure and you don’t want to stoop to the level of your opponent, you will be at your own risk.

“Two, likewise, you cannot force a person with a higher ranked treasure to come down to your level either.”

Leonel’s lip curled when he heard these rules. He found it amusing because there was definitely a scheme at play here.

It was simply impossible that the Owlans would have a treasure on the same level as the Segmented Cube. So why would they be laying out rules that clearly seemed to benefit him?

He believed that the clue was hidden in the first rule. Not being able to force his opponent to bring out a treasure of equivalent value was like asking himself to shoot himself in the foot.

However, he didn’t mind it considering the second rule was there…

No one could force him to participate if he didn’t want to, and even if they did manage to find a way to force him, they still had their face to worry about.

For example, even if they brought out a lesser treasure, it couldn’t be too much so, or else they would be putting their bias on clear display. The fact Minerva had killed Lumina painted the entire picture.

That wasn’t something the Owlans could afford, especially since they were using this as a stage to return to their absolute peak.

“The third rule to offset this is that when a participant puts forward a treasure with a point total that surpasses that of their opponent, and the challenge is willfully accepted, the individual who challenges is allowed to choose which stream they would like the battle to take place in.”

Leonel blinked, his eyes suddenly going wide.

Aina looked at him as well, seemingly just as surprised.

Were they serious?

Suddenly, the two laughed silently with one another, realizing what was going on.

It seemed that Minerva hadn’t reached the point of treating Leonel like some sort of deity. She was highly confident in her disciple, so of course she would lay out the rules in this way.

From Leonel and Aina’s perspective, they felt that it was stupid to allow Leonel, who clearly had the greatest treasure here, the right to force others to pick Crafting instead of Force Pill Crafting.

But from their perspective, it was the exact opposite.

They probably expected that they would have to take their time and goad Leonel out of his hiding spot. They didn’t think that he would be willing to bring out the treasures he had immediately, so they thought that they could take advantage of him with these rules.

“The Fourth Rule is that you all must complete at least three challenges before you can bow out. In addition, a challenge can be refused, but you cannot refuse two in a row.

“With that said, the last seed will have the right of first challenge.”

Minerva’s gaze swept over Aerin and Lyra who were quite shocked to receive this opportunity.

Leonel, though, was again, not surprised in the slightest. If they had a chance to take an advantage away from him, why shouldn’t they?

Aerin and Lyra looked toward one another. The two were an unlikely partnership, a member of the Dwarven Race-the bottom of the barrel in terms of Mortal Races outside of the Human Race themselves-and the pinnacle of the Mortal Races, the Pure Blooded Spiritual.

But they had done well for themselves until now, finally making it to this stage.

For Aerin, the difference between a top ten reward and the top three was enormous. The Dwarven Race didn’t have a single Ninth Order Standard Blueprint… well, at least not one that wasn’t akin to a carefully laid trap or rooted to the earth.

This, though, he believed would be a chance to change all of that. They might be able to shortchange him, but could they do the same to Lyra.

Lyra gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. He blushed and shook his head furiously. He was here for his entire Race, not to chase women that would get him killed.

He took a breath. Scanning through the participants, his eyes eventually landed on Leonel. But, he hesitated.

Logically, Leonel and Aina were the obvious target, the other four were Demi-Gods. But no matter how he looked at them… he couldn’t help but feel they were the most dangerous couple here.