Dimensional Descent

Wise Star Order deflated. As expected, after sensing the fringes of his soul for the first time, Leonel grasped the technique not too long after, especially considering that it wasn't much of a 'technique', per se.

<Soul Bound> was a contract. So long as you had the skill to draw the Force Art, there wasn't much else to it. And, the fact that Wise Star Order was just a soul and didn't have a body made it even easier, not to mention the fact he was already within Leonel's Ethereal Glabella. Drawing a Force Art within his own domain like that made things easy on him.

Soon, Wise Star Order found himself bound, his mind and thoughts completely opened up to Leonel. The only saving grace about this matter was that he was finally not being continuously assaulted with pain because he could finally leave Leonel's mind.

Wise Star Order didn't seem to be doing too good. Aside from the fact his expression was dark, he had suffered no small amount of injury and the result was him being nothing but misty fog from the waist down. Even some of his torso got the same treatment.

He gazed toward Leonel deeply, but Leonel himself was still a bit enraptured by that mystical feeling this Force Art had given him. But, unfortunately, it didn't feel nearly as good as the first time. It was like the trick no longer worked on him anymore.

"… Your Dream Force affinity is… Abnormal." Wise Star Order said coldly.

"What is abnormal about it? It's just related to my ability." Leonel said casually.

"No. It's abnormal. Your affinity is what you would expect from a Savant, but you're clearly not one. I would bet that you haven't even truly stepped into Tier 4 of your ability, it makes little to no sense."

Leonel raised an eyebrow. He looked up to meet his Ancestor's gaze. But then he soon realized that he didn't need to observe him to know whether he was lying or not, their connection told him all he needed to know.

It seemed he would have to flex this muscle a bit more because it required him getting a feel for his soul and sensing what it was telling him. It was almost like he had gained a new limb and he needed to learn how to use it.

"I haven't stepped into Tier 4 of my ability? I thought I had already…" Leonel was a bit off put by this as well.

"The Tier of your ability can't be decided by how it functions in a Fifth or Sixth Dimensional world, what are you thinking?"

"Then is it decided by how it works in a Seventh Dimensional one?" Leonel asked.

He hadn't ever felt his ability dip down in strength when going between worlds, so he always just assumed it never would.

"No, fool. Your father was born in a Seventh Dimensional world. Why would your ability take a dip down in one? The true strength of an ability is decided by how it performs on a Void Battlefield."

"A Void Battlefield?"

Wise Star Order sighed. It seems that this would be his life now. Guiding a literal toddler to learn about things almost anyone would already know about.

"They're the locations between Domains. The pressure they exude is unlike anything you've experienced. Even those born on Eighth Dimensional worlds cannot take them lightly. From what I can see, your ability would be at best at the lower reaches of Tier 3 on even the weakest Void Battlefield. In the worst case, it would fall near the higher reaches of Tier 2."

Leonel's brows shot up. That was an enormous change.

The levels of Leonel's ability were: Opening, Awakening, Visualization, Control and finally Manifestation. He could still stand it if his ability fell to Tier 3 because Visualization was what he probably used the most often.

If he fell out of Tier 4, he would lose access to abilities like Dream Counter and Dream Sense, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Falling out of Tier 3, though… That would be an enormous hit to his battle prowess.

Visualization allowed Leonel to recreate objects and simulate reality in his mind. If he lost that, he would lose his Dreamscape, Dream Sculpt, Dream Clone… Practically all of his Ability's best strength would vanish.

All Tier 2, the Awakening level could give Leonel was an added sensory perception and his Dream Force affinity. But, because his Ability couldn't project Dream Force like other Dream Force related Abilities could, this was all but useless.

Leonel's expression went through several changes. He had never expected something like this.

"How do I strengthen my Ability?"

Wise Star Order really didn't want to answer, but it seemed he didn't really have a choice.

"Didn't you just take the first step? Comprehend Dream Force more. That's the root of everything you can do."

"But you already said my Dream Force affinity is higher than it should be. Then why would my Ability level be so low on a Void Battlefield?"

"Since when did affinity have anything to do with comprehension? In fact, the higher your affinity, the tougher it makes it in some respects. People like you just do without understanding, and it's a detriment."

Leonel almost couldn't help but chuckle at this. The irony was palpable.

He spent so long running away from doing things on instinct, and yet he had neglected what he relied on instinct the most to do. From the very beginning, everything related to his Ability came naturally to him, and things only got better after he swapped out Soul Force for Dream Force.

Now that Leonel was aware, though, the change he had to make was simple.

He just had one other pressing question, one that was burning at the back of his mind. He would never forgive himself for not getting an answer to it.

"How the hell do I stop old bastards like you from reading my mind? I don't like it."

[AN: Last chapter for today... <3]