3112  Better

Leonel didn't even know what to say to all of this. Nilrem didn't even explain anything as he began ripping his body to what was effectively shreds.

Unfortunately for the wizened wizard turned torture master… it was extremely difficult to torture the current Leonel. Têxt belongs to .

Leonel didn't even scream out, and his gaze was almost uninterested in everything that was happening. In fact, rather than uninterested, it was more accurate to say that he was focused internally, making it look as though he wasn't paying attention to the outside world at all.

He had just spent almost a century in complete and utter agony, his body being eaten from the inside out. And he had done it all even without relying on Dream Sense to dull it all because he thought that that might affect the process.

But now, he had no such qualms. The combination of Dream Sense and his forged will made Nilrem's attempt to make him scream out in pain a fool's gambit.

That said, it didn't change the fact that Leonel was truly shocked by what was happening. It was just that Nilrem was quickly finding that he had no tears to shed. Why did he have to have such a monster for a disciple?

In reality, Nilrem's entire existence as a master, ever since the first timeline ended, was to be ready for this moment.

After Leonel finalized his own personal choice for this timeline, he had been waiting for the right time to step in, and that time had finally come.

Every time Leonel reset the timeline, there were some things that were bound to shift and change. The result of that was always a slightly different approach to reaching the pinnacle.

However, what was undeniable about every one of these changes was that it would, without fail, be stronger than the last.

The reason for this was because the ultimate change would always come after Leonel had grasped the truest pinnacle of Dream Force, a Dream Force that existed outside the bounds of time.

As Leonel became more used to this Dream Force, he would be able to catch tidbits from timelines that had already been erased. He would then create a new ability for his Ability Index similar to Dreamscape that would help to consolidate things and make them easier to sense and parse.

Ultimately, he would create something even better.

However, this timeline seemed to have deviated. This time, Leonel chose his path before he grasped a Dream Force that transcended time.

This seemed bad. After all, didn't this mean that Leonel wouldn't necessarily create something better than he had in his other lives?

However, whether it was future Leonel or Nilrem… they knew that this wouldn't necessarily be the case for two main reasons.

First, this choice that Leonel made would be free of the influences of his previous selves, and by extension…

It would be free of the Demoness.

And second, now that the choice was set and couldn't be changed, the aspects of his other choices could finally be incorporated into his body and bring his strength forward to a new stage.

This wasn't to say that Leonel would be taking it all in. Instead, Nilrem was helping him assimilate what matched his current path, and the more he worked, the brighter Leonel's eyes shone as though he was grasping everything in real time.

It was an entire six months before Nilrem finally came to a stop.

…

Leonel landed on the ground and rolled his neck from side to side, feeling a bit odd. But soon that feeling vanished as well.

"You don't already?"

Nilrem covered his face with a palm. "Don't talk to me. I'm still in mourning."

Leonel smiled, flexing his fists.

His Dimension hadn't changed, and his body practically felt the same. And yet… everything had changed.

He could feel it clear through his Control Ability Index. What Nilrem had done wasn't as hands-on as one might expect. Instead, he rearranged the foundation that Leonel had to pave a smooth path to the future.

For one, his mutated "Metal Body" now only needed to absorb one thing and one thing only to progress.

Star Force.

His Divine Armor was still a "problem," but not in an aspect that one would expect. It was just that Leonel's ideas had become even wilder now, and they would be even more difficult to execute on.

Third, his Innate Node was pulsing with a wide amount of vitality. In fact, it couldn't even be said that it was just his heart alone. The crystal case of the Innate Node had covered all his veins, arteries, and blood vessels, making his entire body a network of the energy.

Fourth, his Dream Force felt like an impossibly deep well. It was no weaker now than when he was his enlightened self in terms of quantity. Though it wasn't as potent, the stamina was off the charts. He could practically use both halves of his Ability Index with impunity now.

Fifth, the shackles on his Wise Star Order and Wise Sea Order constitutions seemed to have completely vanished… shackles he hadn't even known were there in the first place.

And, whether it was four or five, they were both made possible only because of six…

His Northern Star Lineage Factor seemed to have been stripped down completely and torn out of his body.

This seemed counterproductive. How could it help?

And the secret to that was none other than Blackstar and Tolliver.

Using a timeline where Leonel had chosen to use Soul Clones to solve his issue with having too many talents, he formed a link between his Metal Spirit and Beast Companion, forming them up and creating a loop between his soul and theirs.

Then, through the Dream Plane, he could gain the benefits of their Lineage Factor without any of the hassle, while in the same breath advancing the strength of both by a substantial margin as they also gained the support of his Wise Star and Sea Order status.

However, even this was still just the beginning.