Dimensional Descent

"… Um?"

Leonel, who was stark naked from head to toe aside from a small Pixie shield blocking his most private area, was speechless. Wasn't this region barren of people? When the hell did they get such a large audience?

Luckily, you could take objects out of a Unique Zone like this one, or else he wouldn't have anything to work with but his hands.

The original plan was for Aina to go and get him another set of robes since nothing the Dwarven Race had would fit him. But, it seemed that that plan had flown out of the window.

Aina, who was by his side, was stunned as well. But, when she looked at Leonel, she couldn't help but roll her lips over, trying to hold back her laughter.

"What are you laughing about?" Leonel raised a brow. "It's you who's taking a loss here."

Leonel's figure, under the influence of Metal Body, put fitness models to shame. He made more vascularity than he knew what to do with and even his smallest oblique muscles were defined and bulging. He had lean muscle mass coming out of places others didn't even know existed, and he wasn't easily embarrassed to begin with.

So, as far as he was concerned, it really was Aina who was taking a loss here.

Aina, who seemed to suddenly realize this as well, stopped laughing, sending a glare into the crowd. Seeing the blushing faces of some of the women in the ground, she turned her glare from them back to Leonel who was caught between laughter and trying to maintain a serious expression.

How was it his fault? Plus, weren't you laughing first?

BANG!

Aina's battle ax swung outward, slicing into the ground just a half centimeter from Leonel's toes.

Leonel's lip twitched. The enormous double ax blocked everything all the way up to his neck. He could barely peek over.

This method worked too. But… 'Did you need to swing so close to my feet like that? I need those to walk and stuff…'

Aina's actions seemed to cause the deathly silent atmosphere to boil over. In one moment, there was a harsh silence, and in the next moment, there was an uproar.

The only way the portal would open three days early was if they had passed. When everyone realized this, those that had bet on their survival cheered while those who had bet on their failure clicked their tongues, turning around and leaving so that they wouldn't have to deal with the celebration that had little to do with them.

Leonel, who had been trying to appease Aina, raised an eyebrow again, looking outward. There was something odd about this.

He immediately saw the crowd split into two groups. No, there was a third group, individuals who rushed off not to avoid the celebration, but rather seemed to be in a hurry. Likely a hurry to…

'Report something?'

Leonel took all of this in.

'It seems that someone spread the news of our bet. It's unlikely to be Dmitry, and the only other person who knew was Orinik, so it must have been him. Considering the crowd's reaction, they seem to have been just as invested in this as we were. The only way for such a thing to happen is if…'

Leonel only believed that there were two possible explanations.

The first was related to a rivalry between Sword and Spear. There were many Factions in the Void Palace, but none were more contentious than these two groups. It went beyond Factions and Parties and acted as two clashing ideologies. It was possible that Leonel's entry had caused such a spat.

The second explanation was that someone had formed a betting ring around their performance.

Leonel's gaze scanned the crowd again. He felt that there was a better than 80% chance that it was the latter with much of the remaining 20% taken up by the first possibility.

'Orinik isn't here. But, he will be here soon.'

"Let's wait here." Leonel suddenly said when Aina was about to go and get him clothes. "Very soon, there'll be someone who obediently goes to get what I need."

Aina raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding. But, as far as Leonel was concerned, why have Aina go run this errand when someone else would?

Leonel stood in patient silence. Eventually, as expected, Orinik came over not long afterward. He had still been focused on spreading the news and getting more to bet, he hadn't expected that Leonel and Aina would survive to begin with, so he knew he had to work harder during the earlier days, or else as time waned, people would be less and less likely to bet.

His eyes flashed when he saw Leonel and Aina standing practically unscathed. Though Leonel had been covered in blood, his flames had long since burnt that away. As for Aina, her self healing abilities were beyond what most could hope to compare to and she could control blood freely. Why would she allow it to be wasted by drying on her clothes?

However, Orinik soon calmed. No matter what, he had made a fortune. With it, he would be able to increase the distance between himself and Leonel wider than it already was. He had no need to worry about Leonel at all.

It was a bit unfortunate he couldn't make more money, but his Void Point totals were already plateauing. Now, he just had to pay everyone what he owed him, take his cut, and be on his way.

Turning his head away from Leonel and Aina as though they were there at all, he gave everyone a bright smile.

"Please form a line, everyone! Present your betting tokens! I have your winnings here!"

The crowd did as they were told even as the envoys returned.

From start to finish, Leonel didn't say a word, just continuing to stand there. His cold eyes receded, a light smile plastered on his face.

It took several hours but the crowd only seemed to be growing. It was only after the last voucher was processed and Orinik was brimming with happiness that Leonel cleared his throat.

"Are you perhaps forgetting something?"