1369 Easier, Not Harder

Leonel's Spear Force came out marked in crimson. As though his blade had been marred by dripping blood, it left streaks of rouge in the air, drawing hard lines into the pathway just as Aina rushed over.

"Jump." Leonel called out.

Aina complied, leaping into the air. She looked down wondering why it was Leonel had asked such a thing, only to find that the last point her foot had touched had already begun to crumble.

Leonel's gaze flashed, his foot stomping down hard. He tugged at his Variant Earth Affinity, hard. He knew well that manipulating Earth in a Seventh Dimensional Plane like this one was impossible, it was far too hard. Maybe only when he formed his Sixth Dimensional Metal Body would he have a slight chance at effecting this environment to any large degree capable of helping in battle.

But, right now, Leonel didn't need a large change, he just needed a small nudge, just enough to get a chain reaction going. And that, he most definitely did.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The pathway crumbled. In one moment, there was just a small section of cracks. In the next, there was an entire network of crumbling rocks, falling down in a rain that pelted the surface of the green lake below.

Aina landed lightly to Leonel's side, her expression flickering. Even the most benign earth in a Seventh Dimensional world was probably stronger than even the most refined material of the Fifth and even much of the Sixth Dimension. What Leonel had just done was no small feat.

She looked to Leonel's side profile, only to find him breathing quite hard.

"Are you okay?"

Leonel turned back, facing the entrance to the perforated entrance.

"I'm fine, just took a lot more out of me than I thought it would."

Leonel took a deep breath, suddenly causing a large surge of Force to rush toward him. With a thought, he flipped a palm to reveal a Pure Force Crystal, feeling that it wasn't enough. This was among the batch that the golden scaled koi fish had helped create. Even now, the little guy was still at work, which was excellent for Leonel because this was without a doubt one of the best ways to replenish oneself.

Aina's lip twitched. "You…"

Leonel grinned. "I'm superman and I'm filthy rich, aren't you very lucky?"

Aina was speechless for a moment before she rolled her eyes. Wasn't he getting a little bit too cocky?

"Let's go."

There was already another surge of Rapax coming through, but now the two didn't have to worry about any coming from behind them, at least not for now. Up ahead, there was an entrance to the true center of the Nest lay.

'That really did take a lot, the cost might not be worth it outside of very specific circumstances.'Content is property © .

Just now, Leonel had drawn the single Rune he had comprehended. However, what he hadn't expected was the heftiness of the backlash resulting from drawing it without Scarlet Star Force. Well, maybe backlash wasn't the appropriate way to describe it, but the cost was definitely great.

The Rune seemed to dislike being drawn with other Forces, even the somewhat compatible Radiant Force Leonel had ended up having to infuse his Spear Force with.

Leonel could tell that if he had used Scarlet Star Force instead, he would have needed not even a fraction of the Force he ended up using. But, because he didn't want to harm his body when they were in the beginning stages of such a dangerous mission, he had chosen this route instead.

Luckily, everything worked out. But, he would need to keep this in mind for the future. Drawing the Rune was the most effective way to stoke Destruction, but the cost wasn't worth it if it wasn't done with Scarlet Star Force to begin with.

But, that gave Leonel another scary realization. This meant that what he understood about his Scarlet Star Force was just the tip of the iceberg, there was actually room for it to get stronger.

'Idiot. Don't you have a second Innate Node perfect for this?'

Leonel's expression flickered as he fought through the last line of Rapax.

'You mean?'

'Comprehending a Rune is supposed to make things easier, not harder on you, or else what would be the point in comprehending it at all? If things just got worse, then you might as well give up and wait for death.'

'So it's not enough to use my Innate Node as is?'

'No. One Rune is far from enough to use the one inside you, but it is enough to use the smaller one with minimal effort.'

'Do I need to implant it into myself?'

'If that's what you needed to do, I would have already told you to do it. You can't. The moment that Innate Node enters your body, it'll be triggered into undergoing the same growth as the one you have right now. It was only growing so slowly in that other brat because it wasn't his Innate Node to begin with.'

'Then how do I use it?'

'This isn't rocket science brat, just grab a hold of it and take control of it.'

Leonel's gaze glowed. His second Innate Node was only in the Fourth Dimension. However, it was precisely because of this that he could somewhat use it.

He had been putting off finding a Spiritual Medium compatible with his comprehension of Camelot's Magic System. In fact, he had concluded that the best Medium was his very own body. However, what was more compatible with his own body than his very own Innate Node?!

Leonel's split several minds to think about this matter as he and Aina burst through the final line, opening themselves up the true center of the Nest, becoming the very first ones to step foot inside.

What lay before them was another elaborate network of mazes but this time, extrapolated into three dimensions.

The obvious choice was to try to race to the center of this spherical mage, but Leonel's gaze sharpened, his Dreamscape letting off an arc of lightning.

'Wise Star Order said that the green lake's true purpose is the accumulation of Life Force. The only reason for the toxicity is its interaction with Anarchic Force. If not for this, it would practically be a wellspring… That means that the destination isn't the center of this maze… It's the bottom.'

Leonel's gaze shifted downward.

He could use his mind to map out this region and eventually find a path. Or…

"Let's blast right through."

Leonel's demeanor shifted, his heart rushing. Excitement bubbled up within him.