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Chapter 158 Spider Legion

HONG!

Leonel took a strong step forward.

[Leonel Morales (Force Amplified)]

[Strength: 2.59; Speed: 2.38; Agility: 2.43; Coordination: 2.61; Stamina: 2.73 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 2.63; Spirit: 2.92; Force: 0.60]

The grass beneath his feet swayed wildly, being pressed down by his momentum as he took yet another step forward.

HONG!

[Leonel Morales (Force and Spear Domain Lineage Factor Amplified)]

[Strength: 2.85; Speed: 2.62; Agility: 2.67; Coordination: 2.87; Stamina: 2.73 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 2.90; Spirit: 2.92; Force: 0.66]

With Leonel as the center, billowing winds spread out, leaving a trail of concentric circles as though a helicopter was descending from above.

At that moment, Leonel smiled lightly. 'I haven't gotten back to Aina yet, I have no intention of dying in this place.'

"I'm sure you all heard that." Leonel said without turning back. "Aim well."

Leonel dashed forward, his speed so swift that it almost looked like his feet weren't touching the ground.

To his back, the youths clenched their jaws. By now, in the chaos of the moment, those of the Eastern and Southern Lookouts didn't have the luxury of continuing to remain separated.

King of Seas and Pisces were still fuming over what happened earlier, but did they have much of a choice? If they didn't band together now, wouldn't their slim chance at survival become even slimmer than it already was?

Still, despite the situation, those of the Southern Lookout had complicated feelings of their own. They couldn't help but feel odd about Leonel's actions to this point. Wasn't he supposed to be arrogant and insufferable?

Someone with those kinds of personality traits would probably use their superior power to force them to act as meat shields. If it came down to it, and Leonel forced them to take the vanguard, would they even be able to say no? Where would they go? Without a pillar of support like Leonel, what were their odds of survival?

Leonel crossed the last line of grass and stepped onto the gravel-like land of death. To him, it simply didn't matter whether those to his back followed him or not. He was a person with a soft heart. This was precisely why he had taken on the role of their vanguard. However, it was impossible for him to put himself in anymore danger should they choose to hesitate.

The loose land beneath his feet was kicked up into the air as his hair

whipped about wildly. There was something freeing knowing that all of his opponents were just beasts, as though an inhibition on his heart had been removed and he could finally let loose.

At that moment, a familiar roar sounded behind Leonel, causing his lip to curl into a more prominent smile. It seemed that they had finally decided to follow.

'[Call of the Wind]'

The ease with which Leonel used this technique simply couldn't be compared to the first time he had done so. It looked as though he had only casually flicked his wrist a few times, yet several lines of white curled in the air, finding the gap between the head and thorax of several spiders in the blink of an eye.

Leonel could at most use this technique a few times in the past. But now, using it over a hundred wasn't an issue. Before he had even met the frontline of the charging legion, almost a dozen large spiders had already fallen, their mandibles chopping at empty air.

'As expected, the smaller ones have the same weakness as the larger one…'

How could all of these spiders be of the same sub species? Things would never be so convenient. Let alone this spider legion, even the legion of the tiger and bear weren't completely homogenous.

But, what stood true was that like converged with like. The spider legion was mostly made up of? various mutated arachnids and different kinds of insects. The tiger legion was most constructed of large cat-like beast. So on and so forth…

Now that Leonel had a firm grasp of their weakness, he wouldn't allow them to stop his path forward. Especially not now that he had support coming to his back.

In another few strides, Leonel had met the spider legion. The youths charging closely to his back couldn't help but be shocked by his dauntlessness. But, if they knew that Leonel first trial in this world was facing an army of Spaniards with no weapon outside of a bicycle… they would think much differently.

This fearlessness, this dauntlessness, the firmness of his stride and the straightness of his back… he had earned them all with his blood, sweat and tears.

Leonel's movements became ethereal, his steps carrying a bit of the elegance of the primitive woman. As devastating as [Call of the Wind] was in the long range, in the short range, it was even more so.

Leonel carved a path, sliding past the sharp legs and chomping pincers of insects and spiders around him.

If all he had to do was make it past, he would have long since stepped through the air. However, he held his ground firmly, every pierce of his spear reaping another life.

Suddenly Leonel took his left hand off the staff of his spear, flipping his palm to reveal his pistol.

His hips spun as he fired a single shot.

In the distance, Precious Moment had fallen. She scrambled to pull back, ignoring the hard gravel scraping across her palms and bottom as she hurried back. The mandibles of a mantis-like creature snapped toward her, not caring for the tears and snot running down her face.

"Emilia!"

Seer roared from a battle to her side, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time. Disregarding himself, he pointed his staff toward the mantis, blowing it away. But, before he could sigh in relief, he realized the spider he had been fighting was now free to attack him.

A leg glistening like steel shot toward his chest. He could almost see the scene of his chest being pierced right through.

However, he could have never expected a single shot to find its mark at that very moment.

The spider had hardly raised its legs before it fell limply to the ground, unable to get up again.

Seer looked toward the direction of the shot, only to find Leonel's back looking back at him. A feeling of gratefulness welled up in his chest.

'He fired that shot even before I saved Emilia… Just how did he predict what would happen…?'

Unfortunately, this wasn't the time for him to ask this question, because his savior was facing his own problems now. After seeing Leonel take out so much of its own, the spider king which had been taking a backseat suddenly couldn't any longer.

Leonel's jaw steeled. "Give me a rundown of this spider's abilities."

Chapter 159 Spider King (1)

[ *Ping* Evolved life form detected. ]

[Kingdom: Animalia]

[Phylum: Arthropoda]

[Class: Arachnida]

[Order: Araneae]

[Infraorder: Mygalomorphae]

[Family: Theraphosidae]

[State: Evolved]

[ Abilities: … *Ping* Generating nomenclature… ]

[ Venomous Touch: Tier 8 Black Grade venom detected. This venom has been infused with every fiber of this creature's being. ]

[ Rebounding Web: Spider silk with astonishing elasticity. ]

[ Sturdy Web: Spider silk Tier 7 Black Grade toughness. ]

[ Weakness: Between head and abdomen ]

[ Evaluating power… *Ping* ]

[ Evolution Stage: Elite Tier 7 Black ]

Leonel's brow furrowed. He had been very worried about the webs of these spiders when he charged, but he didn't expect that the matter would be even more troublesome than he originally thought.

To make matters worse, this still wasn't considered an SS-grade threat? Tier 7 Black, that translated to S-grade. But, what was with the 'Elite' tag, what did that mean? Now that he thought about it, Leonel remembered that the octopus was classified as Peak Tier 7 Black. So there were separations like this?

No matter how curious he was, Leonel knew that this wasn't a time to ask this question. All he needed to guess was that this spider was a greater threat than the octopus. Knowing this, he had to ask questions that could help him keep his life.

"Can my chain necklace block the toxicity?"

[ *Ping* Replying to Seed, the energy shield can block about 80% of the venom's toxicity. ]

Leonel's frown deepened, but his footsteps didn't stop.

He dashed toward the spider, but when it seemed they would clash, he suddenly changed directions, headed off to the side with all the might he could muster. He knew that the spider would chase after him because all along the way, his spear had never stopped. He continued carving a path forward, out pacing the spider by a measure.

Leonel could tell by the spider's stats that its speed was actually much higher than his own. However, it's agility was very low. Making it navigate a battlefield like this, especially when it had to be careful not to poison its own legion, was about the best thing Leonel could do at this moment.

"Is there no other way to deal with the spider's venom?"

Leonel knew he needed to be incredibly specific when asking questions to the

dictionary. It wouldn't simply offer him up answers based on the situation. So, Leonel had slowly learned to keep an open mind and ask things he might not usually ask.

In his mind, he didn't have anything else that could deal with venom. But who knows if this was really true?

Outside of his expectations, it seemed he was correct to ask.

[ *Ping* Light Elemental Force has a strong healing effect and is the bane of many toxins. Seed's Light Elemental Force is still too low to be considered immune. ]

Leonel's eyes widened. "Too low? There are levels to Light Elemental Force?"

Leonel really didn't expect this. He thought that a Force Strengthening Deviation was as advertised. He didn't expect for there to be more.

[ *Ping* Yes.]

Even in the midst of the battlefield, Leonel couldn't help but curse under his breath. Couldn't this damned dictionary be a bit more forgiving? Why did every answer need to be so short and to the point. It really never touched on anything he didn't directly ask it, Leonel couldn't help but wonder how many things he had missed out on because of this.

'Forget it, now isn't the time to ask this. That damned spider is hot on my heels.'

Leonel knew he couldn't put too much effort into running away from this spider. Though he felt he could escape on his own, he was meant to be acting as a vanguard currently. If he strayed too far, instead of opening up a path, he would be allowing the other youths to get swallowed up.

The youths who had come to this Hunt still number about 80 or so. With such a number, even though they were still vastly outnumbered, it was definitely better than going in alone. Leonel needed them as much as he didn't have the heart to leave them here to die.

So, he could only hope that the combination of his Light Elemental Force and his energy shield was enough to hold out.

Leonel's spear flickered forward, leaving after images in the air as he pierced another spider through. Compared to the massive three meter long spider to his back, the ones before him were barely half a meter long. But, were still far larger than what one would expect.

The gross creatures sent a chill up even Leonel's spine, but he still pushed them down his spear like a kabob before turning back and whipping them toward the quickly approaching spider.

CHIIIIIIIIIIIICHIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!

The spider leader's leg lashed out, slicing the soaring corpses in half with a single strike and causing a rain of green guts to fall from the sky.

In that moment, its vision was obscured, allowing Leonel to rapidly close the distance.

Leonel ducked down and slid across the grey gravel, trying to get beneath the spider's body to attack its weak point. But, just as he was going to succeed, the spider leader seemed to realize that something was off.

Its mouth opened, its mandible-like protrusions snapping as a violet fog fell from its mouth.

Leonel quickly held his breath, explosively retreating.

'Damned dictionary. It said venomous touch, it never said anything about venomous fog.'

At that moment, a white strand of silk shot out like a bullet. No, it wasn't completely white. Beneath the sunlight, it reflected a slight hint of fluorescent purple. It was so subtle that even with his senses, Leonel almost didn't catch it.

Leonel immediately recognized that this was the spider's true ability, he had wrongly accused the dictionary this time. Venomous Touch was described as a venom infused into every fiber of the spider's being… that would include its breath!

'Damn…'

Leonel rolled out of the way in a sorry state, just barely managing to dodge the bullet of silk. But, the insect beast behind him's cry of pain made it obvious that it wasn't so lucky.

Leonel turned back to find it quickly turning purple, then black, then erupting into a cluster of dark fog and ash. If he didn't know better, he would think that it had been burned in a furnace…

It was now that Leonel suddenly realized that maybe the other five legions of beasts hadn't made a mistake just sending the spider king here.

Chapter 160 Spider King (2)

Leonel's expression grew dignified.

He was reluctant to use his Light Elemental Force. It wasn't because he was trying to hide it, but because the consumption was too great. Not only did it drain his spirit, but it also drained his Force at a much faster rate. Though his Spear Force also had the same impact on him, it wasn't nearly as exaggerated. But, this also made sense since his Spear Force wasn't as powerful either.

But, at this point… What choice did he have?

HONG!

The dull color of Leonel's eyes suddenly lit brightly, a blinding glow shooting out from within their depths.

'Come on, you damned bug.'

Leonel flashed forward, leaving a streak of gold in his wake. He looked like a shooting star streaking across the battlefield, catching the eye of several of the youths battling for their lives. Their blood couldn't help but boil watching Leonel face up against this spider king on his own.

Was this his ability? They all seemed to have this thought.

Leonel crossed into the foggy venom domain of the spider king, sending several piercing strikes forward at once.

The spider king's response wasn't slow. Its sharp steel-like legs deflected the first few as its mandibles chopped at Leonel.

When it saw Leonel retreat out of the way, another streak of silk shot from its mouth, heading directly for him.

Shockingly, Leonel didn't dodge this time, facing the strike head on as a pistol appeared in his hand, already loaded with a dart.

BANG!

CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!

"Ugh…"

Leonel was sent flying. It felt as though the spider king's projectile was a javelin crashing into his chest.

His face turned red and bulged, only for a projectile of blood to fly from his mouth.

The enraged and pain filled roars of the spider caught the attention of the other legions of beasts, but they all hesitated to come forward. There was a reason they were still standing out side the large hill-like hive. They were waiting for the right opportunity to charge in and gain benefits for themselves, if they really left now, who knows what could happen?

These beasts were obviously not stupid. Since this place had such a large pull toward them, it obviously had a massive pull toward others. This was why they were standing in this position. But,

despite having evolved, their thoughts were still relatively simple and straight forward. It was difficult for them to respond with great flexibility.

Before they could even make a decision, the situation changed again.

The rumbling of beasts that came from out of the forest suddenly sounded much closer. They could only look over to find hundreds of wild beasts charging over the hills, barreling through and crossing into the gravel filled lands.

Compared to the beast legions with their respective kings, it was clear that these beasts had much less intelligence. Their tongues hung out from their mouths, a red tint coloring their eyes as though they had lost their minds. They wanted nothing more than to find the source of all this rich Force.

Another sharp crack rang out in Leonel's ears as he slid across the ground. He was very much familiar with this sound. He knew that his chain necklace had suffered another break.

Sweeping his Internal Sight over it, his expression somewhat paled. The first break had caused its efficacy to drop by 10%. This time around, the treasure only had 70% of its initial strength left.

Leonel didn't even have a mind to care about his current situation. This treasure had saved his life too many times already. If it really broke completely, it would be too great of a loss to swallow.

He grit his teeth, glaring toward the screaming spider who seemed to not even have a mind to organize its own troops.

'I should have pierced its brain with that strike, but maybe I was too optimistic. I don't know anything about the anatomy of a spider… or maybe it didn't pierce that deeply?'

Leonel shook his head hard. "RUN!"

He snapped the youths who were too focused on battle out of it. They needed to take advantage of his beast tide to apply pressure on the other beast legions. If they were to get caught up in it, their last chance would go up in a puff of smoke.

Leonel grit his teeth, ignoring the pain racking his body to stand.

He sent a glance across the battlefield, sighing a faint breath of relief when he saw that everyone had managed to barely keep some forward momentum and, most importantly, stay together.

Under Leonel's lead, they bolted toward the legion of beasts, their trail being followed by a tide of wild beasts. The spider legion didn't seem to know how to react with their leader screaming out and writhing in pain. They were soon swallowed by the beast tide.

Leonel's heart almost beat out his chest with his every stride, once again swearing to himself that he would most definitely get some sort of transportation treasure.

As he ran, Leonel looked down at his chest with a solemn expression. A web spread out, covering half his chest and his shoulder. With every passing moment, it ate into his energy shield, causing the cracks across it to grow.

'Dammit…'

Without a choice, Leonel took off his tight, black compression shirt before it could continue to corrode the energy shield. He coughed violently, unable to mind the state of his body as he ran.

He really couldn't believe it. He thought that by now, facing even an SSS-grade threat wouldn't put him in too sorry of a position. But now he had suddenly found out that there were still S-grade threats that could push him to this state. At a time like this, he couldn't help but lament that his ability was auxiliary and not attack based.

Leonel shook his head as the distance between him and the five legions closed.

He once again heard Roaring Black Lion's roar sound out from his back. He didn't need to look back to know the beast tide had slowed somewhat because he could clearly see that even that beasts up ahead were greatly affected.

Leonel didn't have the mind to care about anything else. All of his being was focused on charging through the gap left by the spider legion. He wouldn't let anything stop him.

His oppressive aura involuntarily shot out from his body, covering the lands before him in a layer of oppression.

Chapter 161 Bear King

Leonel controlled his speed. He was more than capable of leaving the trailing youths to his back far behind, but would doing this benefit him? If anything, it would put him in danger. Not only did he need to maintain their pace such that they were ahead of the beast tide, he needed to ensure they could also remain together.

With him in the lead, he perfectly took into account the speed and stamina stats of everyone. By now, any youth worthy of being part of this group had a complete set of stats above 1.00. This was more than enough to cross the remaining 400 or so meters in just half a minute.

They had already crossed half the distance before the legion of beasts couldn't sit idly any longer. Leonel didn't know why it was that they were still waiting, but what he was certain of was that they didn't want anyone entering before they did.

The brownish gold bear stepped forward, roaring as though giving a warning.

The beast tide behind the group of youths faltered for a moment, but it seemed that they had completely lost all reasoning.

It was clear that this fact completely enraged the brownish gold bear. He raised up onto his hind legs, billowing into the skies before slamming his front paws down.

The earth suddenly became turbulent. It seemed for a moment that nothing would happen, but then an earthen tide suddenly rose into the skies, causing Leonel's expression to change violently.

'Earth control? This bear needs to die.'

The moment Leonel made the decision, he didn't hesitate.

The only chance for him and the youths with him to survive was to enter the hive network, making use of the network of tunnels to both hide and find a path toward the source of the Force geyser. However, if there was an earth controlling beast that entered into a network of tunnels with them… They wouldn't even know how they died.

If others heard Leonel's thoughts, they would think he was crazy. Though his line of thinking was correct, how could he possibly spare time for such a thing? Anyone

else would focus on surviving this situation first, then worry about what came later, later.

However, Leonel had been a star quarterback. Every move he made on the football field considered what might happen five, ten, even twenty plays later. Sometimes, it wasn't worth taking a victory if it guaranteed a loss later. Likewise, it was sometimes worth it to eat a loss for the sake of ultimately grasping victory.

Looking at the compression shirt in his hand, Leonel's eyes flashed.

"Do your best to dodge!" Leonel roared.

There was a limit to his abilities. While he could put himself on the line to deal with this beast, he couldn't also help them all dodge this attack. But, he wasn't worried. These were all promising youths for a reason.

Without hesitation, Leonel's speed suddenly doubled, then doubled again. He looked like a streak of light tearing across the graveled land, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

He leapt over the three meter wall of earth with absolute ease.

By now, his distance from the bear king had already shrunk to 50 meters. At this point, he could even see the reflections in its large black eyes. He could sense its fury, its rage, its killing intent. But, his heart remained steady.

40 meters. 30 meters. 20 meters.

"ROOOOOAAARRRR!!"

Seemingly worried about the coming beast tide, the bear king didn't force his legion to charge toward Leonel. Plus, in its mind… how could he possibly not be able to deal with a single human by itself?

The size difference was striking. The bear stood at over five meters tall, yet Leonel was barely two. Even the former's palm seemed capable of swatting him into a meat patty, but Leonel dauntlessly approached.

At that moment, the bear king seemed to sense Leonel's oppressive aura. Its rage had muddled its senses for a moment, but once Leonel came so close, it felt to him that hell had suddenly descended.

The bear was shocked for a moment, only to find that Leonel had suddenly appeared in the air above it, pointing a… black shirt at it?

Confusion colored the bear's features. Why was this human pointing a piece of cloth at it?

The bear king's intelligence was just starting to develop, but the scene before it was completely baffling. It couldn't combine the threatening aura it felt from the human with the scene before it.

For the first time, a beast would pay a price for its rising intelligence. If it was still a normal bear, it wouldn't have hesitated to turn and run. It didn't have emotions like pride, it only had instincts of survival.

But, by now, it had grown the fondness for kingship. It had become intoxicated with power.

It had already sent the spider forward before, causing it to suffer a major setback. If it didn't step up now, the other beast kings would be disatisfied. This was his role to take on.

BANG!

The moment it opened its mouth to roar its fear away, a searing pain ripped through its tongue and throat.

At first, it was the pain of having its flesh torn and pierced. But, in what felt like an instant, its vision grew blurry. It happened so quickly that the human that had been 'standing' in the air above it didn't even have time to land on the ground before its inner organs were completely corroded.

Leonel sucked in a cold breath as the bear collapsed. He had known that the spider king's poison would be potent… but he most definitely didn't expect it to be so exaggerated. He couldn't help but feel a cold shiver run down his spine. If it wasn't for his chain necklace, he would be finished.

After taking a look at the fourth nozzle he had completely ruined, Leonel sighed, landing on the ground heavily.

With a dull bang, the bear king fell to the ground.

Chapter 162 Young Lord

The fall of the bear king was almost like flipping a switch. The shocked beasts suddenly began to release howls of rage. The beasts under the bear king's rule especially lost control, charging forward without regard for anything.

But… What shocked Leonel was the direction they charged. Instead of coming toward him like he had expected, they actually charged toward the Force geyser, leaving Leonel speechless.

He had thought that out of some sense of loyalty, these bear beasts would go all out and fight him to the death. But, it seemed that he had greatly overestimated them. Or, maybe he was just lacking in understanding.

Ultimately, these were wild beasts. They hadn't evolved to the point their thoughts were as meticulous as humans. Only the S-grade Elites among them were slightly better, but even then, that seemed to have as many downsides and upsides judging by the way the bear king died.

It was likely that even SSS-grade beasts couldn't match up to humans in intelligence. They might only be capable of doing so after entering the realms of the Fifth Dimension or higher.

Either way, this was a good thing for Leonel. The path toward the hive now suddenly had two massive holes in it, and there was even a horde of bear creatures opening the path for him.

Taking a look over his shoulder, he found that the youths had just about caught up during his battle. After a faint nod, he bolted forward, not having time to reprimand the Segmented Cube for sucking up the bear king's corpse. What the hell could he do with that poisoned meat? He didn't even feel like the Beast Crystal would be safe to use any longer. But, now wasn't the time to consider any of this.

There was suddenly a new challenge before Leonel now. Despite the fact the hive was now practically right before them, what would they do after entering it? And, what was the situation inside?

Though their large number was an asset before, if the tunnels of the hive were narrow and cramped, this advantage would quickly become a disadvantage.

Leonel felt a headache coming on, but he followed the charging bears in without hesitation. He could only ignore the roars coming from the remaining four legions of beasts.

Unlike the beasts Leonel didn't

charge into the first tunnel he could. After reaching the range of the hive, he leapt up, quickly climbing the hill-like structure and dropping down a tunnel with a fairly shallow fall.

Seeing Leonel's actions, the youths followed with little hesitation. His method was indeed the best. The beasts were straight forward, so they automatically entered the easiest holes of the hive, but who said they had to do so as well?

Entering the darkness, Leonel suddenly felt a calmness still his heart. He almost felt right at home. How long had he spent in those dark Mayan tunnels, using nothing but his sharp senses to navigate his path ahead.

He had an instinct to run forward as quickly as possible, but Leonel didn't do this. Instead, he turned around and held his ground, waiting for the youths who followed in after him.

The tunnels were wide enough for about four robust males to walk shoulder to shoulder at once. Not too narrow, but also not too large.

While this was a bit of a disadvantage with their numbers being about 80, it was a disadvantage the enemy had to contend with as well. Though Leonel's approach sent them away from the majority of beasts, he would be too naive if he thought that not a single one would follow them in.

He could sense that the spider king hadn't approached the hive for whatever reason, but this was good news. He wouldn't know how to deal with that beast king's poison breath in such a small place. If it really came, he would have no choice but to run.

At that moment, the first line of youths caught up with Leonel.

"Run by me, I'll hold the line here and kill any beasts that follow us in." Leonel said quickly.

Roaring Black Lion and the other top youths of the Southern and Eastern Lookouts were the first to catch up, unsurprisingly. When they heard Leonel's words, they understood his intention and nodded.

King of Seas and Pisces hesitated for a moment, but they still followed suit. If they really stirred up problems right now, they probably wouldn't just be the enemy of the Southern Lookout youths. At that point, maybe even their own people would turn against them.

Their gazes flickered as they retreated and Leonel pretended not to notice…

"Bear King died?"

At that moment, a familiar youth's eyes opened wide. He stood frozen on the spot, unable to understand. Compared to his reaction when wererat 006 died, this was far more dignified. He knew exactly how powerful this creature of his was, yet it had died? Could it be that other powerful beasts had appeared? That was impossible, he had scouted the entire island and taken all the SS-grade threats under his control. Unless those beasts from the ocean really got here so quickly?

"Young Lord, is something the matter?"

At that moment, the others looked toward the youth, realizing his weird expression. They all understood that something outside of their expectations must have happened. The group that had been traveling down a particularly dark tunnel couldn't help but pause their steps.

The young man stood silent for a long while, not responding to the questions his subordinates had for him. He was trying to decide whether or not he should call in the other beast kings to deal with this potential threat, but in the end, he shook his head.

Since only Bear King died, it likely meant that other the beast kings had come together to deal with the situation. If he called them in now, it might very well be allowing that creature a chance to enter where it might not otherwise be able to.

Leonel had always assumed that the beasts were waiting outside the hive for a specific moment… Maybe the Force geyser was dangerous or maybe the mine it originated from wasn't perfectly ripe yet… Aside from this, he hadn't thought of another possibility… The possibility that the beast kings were guarding the entrance at the request of their master.

The youth looked up from his thoughts. "Let's go, we need to explore these tunnels and find the path toward the Force Crystal mine faster."

The guards around the youth looked toward his multi-lense monocle and didn't dare to disobey.

Chapter 163 Force Eruption

Leonel sat at a corner of the cave, breathing heavily.

Compared to a few hours ago, he was in a far sorrier state. At least, he looked to be.

Though his clothes were fairly clean due to the abilities of his chain necklace, the rest of him was dead tired. His visage was pale, his fingers twitched every so often due to the exhaustion of his muscles, and his breathing was haggard.

Within the cave that branched from the tunnels of the hive, the other youths were present as well. Some of them sent worshiping gazes toward Leonel while others had more complicated looks.

Among them, King of Seas and Pisces were especially left feeling complex. They knew now how powerful Leonel was but it only left them feeling even more helpless.

After a long while, Leonel's breathing finally calmed. He really wanted to go to bed at this point. His sleep in recent weeks hadn't been great due to that Dark Elemental beast. However, he obviously couldn't do so now. This was no different than the calm before the storm.

They had dealt with their initial safety, but if they still cared about their longterm safety, they had to find a way to deal with the geyser. Though the cave they were in now seemed calm, this wasn't the case at all.

The wind in here was especially volatile. It wasn't enough to hurt any of them, but the fact there was strong wind in a cave located so deep underground was already enough to raise an eyebrow. In addition, Leonel really didn't know if there were any other dangers associated with the Force geyser, so sleeping in such a place was definitely not an option, at least not until he handled some things.

Taking a deep breath to finally calm his heart, Leonel took out the silver disk dictionary.

"How dangerous is this Force geyser?"

Due to the overall silent atmosphere, Leonel's sudden voice definitely drew a lot of attention, especially since many had been sparing him glances to begin with. At first they thought he was talking to himself, but then they suddenly remembered that weird voice that replied to him before when he asked for the spider king's weakness and

couldn't help but listen intently.

[ *Ping* ]

[ The term 'Force geyser' is unrecognized. Judging by Seed's meaning, 'Force Eruption' is being referenced. ]

[ Force flows from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration. The human body is considered to be a semi-closed system. When approaching a Force Eruption, there is the potential of inducing a Force Node Implosion which can result in the crippling or death of the person in question. ]

Hearing this response, the youths immediately paled. Even Leonel grew several levels more serious. Did this mean that their best option was to ride out this Force Eruption until it came to an end?

"How long do Force Eruptions last?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, it depends on the cause. ]

"What can cause Force Eruptions?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Force Eruptions can be caused by the evolution of Force Mines, the death of powerful beasts, the evolution of worlds, the eruption of Sub-Dimensional Zones… ]

The dictionary went on to list what seemed like an endless number of cases. In the end, Leonel had no choice but to cut it off.

"How long will this one last?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Fluctuations detected. Force Eruption 93% similar to evolution of Fourth Dimensional Force Crystal Mine. 37% similar to birth of Crystal Spirit. ]

[ Calculating… ]

[ 128:12:37:05 ]

At first, Leonel didn't understand what the numbers meant, but when it clicked for him, his jaw couldn't help but clench.

"128 days, 12 hours, 37 minutes and 5 seconds…"

When the other youths figured it out themselves, they paled even worse than they had before. How could they last for so long? That was practically half a year!

Where could they get the food and water they needed? Even if they could somehow find a way to solve this problem, would they really be safe all this time?

The worst part was that this was just the time it would take for the Force geyser to stop. Who knew how long the Force in this area would stay at a high concentration? As long as there was a vast difference between the Force in this region and others, it would still be a hot bed for powerful creatures.

As if all of this wasn't enough, even after the Force reached an equilibrium, would that guarantee that the beasts who came would leave? What if they took this as their permanent residence? And, even if they didn't, how long would it take them to leave?

If all of these things were taken into consideration, the time they needed to spend here could easily cross a year, maybe even two or three.

The more they thought, the more they despaired. Would this really be the place they died?

Leonel's eyes narrowed. He had absolutely no intention of dying here nor did he have any intention of staying in this place for so long.

"Is there any way to stop a Force Eruption ahead of time?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ The Force Eruption of a Force Crystal Mine is a natural process used to increase the Force concentration of an evolving world… ]

Hearing to this point, Leonel couldn't help but despairing a bit as well. If this was a natural, necessary process. Didn't that mean they had no choice but to wait? However, the next part sparked his light of hope once again.

[ … the process involves forming Natural Force Arts. To speed up the action of drawing these Natural Force Arts, it is necessary to infuse the Force Crystal Mine Core with high level Force Strengthening Deviations. ]

Grasping onto this faint hope, Leonel's heart grew agitated.

"What are Natural Force Arts and how are they related to the Force Crystal Mine?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, Natural Force Arts are the creation of natural phenomena and often power naturally occurring evolutions. Complex runes are currently being slowly drawn on the Force Crystal Mine Core, the Force Eruption is the result of this process. ]

After knowing this, Leonel only had one question left…

"What can I do to get close to a Force Eruption without dying?"

Chapter 164 Worse

"That's too reckless, we can't do that!"

"And what are we going to do if not? Wait here for death?"

"He's right. What are we going to eat and drink? We won't last even half a week in this state."

The raging debate of the youths went back and forth. It had already been two hours since Leonel's dictionary last spoke, yet they still hadn't come to any sort of consensus.

Leonel leaned against a wall, not saying much of anything as he watched on. He had already made his decision. He would most definitely be traveling down to find the Force Crystal Mine Core. The only reason he hadn't yet was because he was allowing his body to recover.

He had drawn too deeply into his reserves. Even before he battled the coy fish, that Dark Elemental beast had put him in a sorry state. His battle with the spider king and bear king only made an already bad situation worse. As if that wasn't enough, it took him another few hours to kill all the beasts that entered the same tunnel they had.

For now, he needed sleep and rest. After that, he would think of a plan.

He didn't know enough about how this hive was constructed. It was very possible that it was separated into segments that couldn't be accessed from one another no matter how much one walked through them. In that case, it might be necessary to exit this network of tunnels and enter again through another entrance.

Thinking to this point, Leonel couldn't help but sigh to himself. Why was nothing ever easy?

Unfortunately, he had learned long ago in the Mayan tomb that his Internal Sight couldn't penetrate walls. At best, he could snake it through the paths and look ahead.

Leonel suddenly looked up, feeling that someone had suddenly sat by his side. It didn't take him long to realize that it was Roaring Black Lion even in the dim lights.

"It's funny to watch them, don't you think?"

Leonel chuckled slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"They're separated into two groups. One group is too cowardly to go and wouldn't dare risk themselves. The other is also too cowardly even though they're pushing for us to go. They

have no intention of putting themselves in the line of danger at all. They're only so adamant because they think we'll take on the brunt of the troubles for them.

"Which one do you think is worse?"

Roaring Black Lion did find this clown show to be quite funny. All of those powerful enough to actually make a difference weren't even speaking. Those like Leonel, him, Thunderous Clap and even King of Seas' group, were all in their own little corners of the cave. It was like they were allowing the weak to make the decision for them.

The truth was that since they were the most powerful, they suffered the most to get them here. How could they have the energy to mind this argument? Most of them already made their own decision.

"Which is the worst?" Leonel thoughtfully smiled for moment. "Probably the seven of us who aren't speaking at all."

Roaring Black Lion was shocked by Leonel's response for a moment before he broke out into laughter.

"Interesting, interesting."

Though Roaring Black Lion's laughter caught some attention, it wasn't long before the heated discussion continued.

He felt that Leonel wasn't wrong. All seven of them were sitting back, watching those far weaker than them debate back and forth as though their opinions meant anything. It was almost like watching the truth of the world play out before them.

How often did the weak argue their points, hoping to make their voices heard, only for those at the top to completely ignore them and move along as they pleased? The common people probably lamented this about their politicians all the time.

Leonel sighed. He couldn't help but think of the deaths of all those commoners on the Paradise Islands. Was that really the only way to do things? If his father wasn't from a higher world, would he also be so unlucky?

Sometimes he couldn't help but think he wasn't very special. Maybe one could say he worked hard, but he definitely wasn't the hardest worker. There were probably those out there working ten times, even a hundred times, harder than him. Yet, they probably didn't have even half of his results.

What should he tell these people? Too bad? Be born with better parents in your next life?

Seemingly sensing the heavy thoughts his innocent question brought down upon Leonel, Roaring Black Lion patted his shoulder.

"I wanted to tell you thank you, I didn't get a chance to before."

Leonel blinked. "Thank you? For what?"

"For covering my face after our battle. And, I guess for also clearing a path for all of us to get this far. I know you didn't have to."

Leonel's brows raised. He didn't expect such a simple action of his to elicit such thankfulness from Roaring Black Lion. He hadn't even really thought about it much back then. He only thought that since they were all obviously hiding their faces for a reason, he should help them out with that.

Leonel himself didn't really care much about the mask he wore either. He only wore it for the sake of blending in. The Empire definitely knew everything about him already. At this point, there wasn't much of a need to hide himself in this way.

"Though that brute over there doesn't say it, he's thankful too." Roaring Black Lion said with a laugh, pointing toward Thunderous Clap.

Leonel smiled. "There's no need to thank me, it didn't take much effort on my part at all."

Roaring Black Lion looked Leonel up and down as though trying to figure something out.

"What, is there something on my face?"

"You're too easy to talk to, sir Indomitable." Roaring Black Lion said in an overly servile manner.

Leonel laughed. "I didn't even pick that name, didn't you guys pick it for me?"

"Who the hell would give you that name? Stop bullshitting."

The laughter of the two men seemed to ease the tension they were feeling. However, Leonel didn't expect that another would sit beside him at this point, and it would actually be Flowing Wind.

Chapter 165 Brat

Hey, hey. What do you think you're doing here little vixen?" Roaring Black Lion had an immediate reaction to Flowing Wind's appearance. It was clear that he didn't like her much.

"Nobody's here for you, you brute. Don't even know how to treat a lady."

Roaring Black Lion was stunned speechless for a moment. Wasn't this the same woman who told him he wanted to see him break her in half? She practically had an innuendo fitted into her words every other sentence. Why was she pretending to be prim and proper now? Wasn't this too shameless?

But, when he saw how she wanted to get close to Leonel, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. This little vixen really was too shameless.

Leonel sensed the soft mounds pressing against his arm. He had been forced to throw away his shirt, so his torso was still completely bare at the moment, making the sensation especially tantalizing.

Leonel shifted away slightly, causing Flowing Wind to pout. Unfortunately, she couldn't see Leonel's reaction with his mask. But, she subconsciously thought that he was embarrassed.

Flowing Wind's gaze swept over Leonel's toned torso, her eyes lighting with an appreciative gaze. It seemed she liked what she saw, maybe a little too much.

"They call you Indomitable?"

"Unfortunately." Leonel mumbled.

Flowing Wind was confused by this response, but it only made her more interested in Leonel.

"You're quite powerful. Usually they don't let those as powerful as you out. How'd you manage to come here?" Flowing Wind asked curiously.

"I was kidnapped." Leonel mumbled just as unenthusiastically. He wasn't sure what Flowing WInd meant by those words, but he was too lazy to ask.? "Anyway, I'm going to sleep. I haven't had a good night's rest in too long. Let me know what happens while I'm gone."

Before the two could wonder what Leonel meant, he got up and moved to an empty corner of the cave, allowing the Segmented Cube to take him in.

The youths watched on as the Segmented Cube unfolded, taking up about a ten meter region. This was at least 10% of the cave, but no one dared to feel dissatisfied. Without Leonel they wouldn't have even made it so far.

Roaring Black Lion and Flowing Wind's gazes met without Leonel between them, sparks flying.

"Aren't you going to scram now?"

Flowing Wind giggled as though she

hadn't heard the words.

"Is that friend of yours gay?"

Roaring Black Lion was stunned speechless. What the hell was wrong with this woman? Even the most… robust of men wouldn't care for a woman when they were that tired. There were many a fallen soldier on the battlefield that was the bed room due to this exact reason. What a poisonous woman, poking fun at such a thing.

"Do you think you're that special?" Roaring Black Lion retorted.

"… Yes." Flowing Wind said shamelessly.

Leonel collapsed into bed, falling into a dream land. He felt quite thankful that that little beast that had been harassing him all this time hadn't appeared since he entered the center region of the island…

While Leonel was sleeping, the Commanders who were off shore of the island were battling for their lives.

Violet Rain looked off into the distance toward the Force geyser billowing into the skies. Her expression couldn't help but flicker between helplessness and a complicated feeling.

Suddenly, another massive tentacle surged up from the turbulent sea.

"Damned beast, die!"

Her hair fluttered, turning a slight shade of dark violet. Her eyes gained the same tint as she raised her arms into the air.

Violet clouds appeared above her head before a torrential rain of violet droplets fell.

SSSKKKKRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!

With every droplet that fell, another piece of flesh was melted away. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, a tentacle of over ten meters in length became nothing more than bubbling, putrid liquid on the surface of the ocean.

Violet Rain's ability was likely one of the only reasons Southern Lookout's ship had managed to last so long. The longer she kept it activated, the more toxic the surrounding waters became, and the less likely creatures were to approach them. As a result, most of the beasts took the long way around their ship, avoiding them entirely. After all, the source of the Force they wanted so much wasn't coming from the Commanders.

However, despite this, Violet Rain's expression only grew uglier and uglier.

She couldn't help but worry about the youths on the island. But, she also knew that charging ahead to go to save them would only lead to her and the crew's death. Her strength wasn't far above that of the youths. In fact, she wouldn't necessarily win in a battle against any of them.

Though her ability was powerful, it was also extremely taxing to use as well. It was simply impossible for her to use it endlessly.

"Mellow Trees! What's the situation, have you managed to call for reinforcements yet?!" Violet Rain called out.

"We're trying our best, but the Force Eruption is making communication difficult. We might have to leave the range of the island entirely first."

"No!" Violet Rain vehemently disapproved.

What if the youths came to the shore looking for them? At least with her here, there was a small safe haven around the poisoned waters she created. At least the youths would stand a chance if they waited.

But, if they left, what would happen to the youths? How could Violet Rain know that all of the youths she was worried about had already entered the eye of the storm?

"Violet Rain, we need to way the pros and cons here…" Mellow Trees tried to persuade.

"Stop, stop, stop." Violet Rain waved a hand. "I don't believe for a second that we are the only ones aware about this Force Eruption. Not only are we aware, the Eastern Lookout Commanders definitely are as well. And, it won't be long before the Lookouts themselves are aware as well. We have to stay here and wait for reinforcements. Keep trying to see if you can get a message through."

The other Commanders looked at one another and sighed. Violet Rain didn't have a higher status than any of them, but she was the closest to her next promotion because her ability was rated within the S-grade. For now, they could only listen to her words.

'Damned brat, you better not really be a spy. As long as you aren't, help those kids get out of there…'

Who knows how Leonel would react if he knew Violet Rain was thinking about him like this?

Chapter 166 Mine

Leonel woke up, a long yawn pulling at his lips. Though he didn't sleep for as long as he wanted to, it was enough for him to regain some of his energy at the very least.

He stared at the ceiling blankly, wondering what his next course of action should be.

After a while of coming up with nothing, he dragged his body to the pool in the Abode Setting, stripping his clothes and jumping in. Before he realized what was happening, he had already fallen asleep again.

When he woke up once more, he smiled bitterly to himself. It seemed that his thoughts of getting ahead of these matters could be thrown out the window now. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but it was most definitely at least a day, maybe two.

With a sigh, he stood and stretched. One would expect his skin to be a bit prune-like after staying in water for so long. But, it seemed that this water was quite special.

'What to do… What to do…'

Leonel knew he needed to find the source of the Force geyser, but this was easier than it sounded.

Though the Force geyser blew a hole through the hive, if Leonel approached it from the outside, he would only be asking for death.

According to the dictionary, the only way to protect one's self against a Force Eruption was to form what the dictionary called 'Force Skin'. This was apparently a Force manipulation type technique.

Force Skin added a layer of protection to one's body using Force. As long as one created one of high enough concentration, the Force around the Force Eruption wouldn't detect the low Force concentration within your body and would thus not try to enter your Force Nodes.

There were a few problems with this though, the main of which was stamina. It took a lot to create such a high density Force Skin. That meant that it was in their best interest to delay the time they spent in direct contact with the Force geyser as much as possible.

Obviously, if they wanted to do this, they couldn't enter from the top of the hive, or else their Force Skins would give out before they could even get close. Their best option was to take advantage of these network of tunnels to

block the brunt of the Force Eruption and only expose themselves when they were already as close as possible.

Unfortunately, this was easier said than done.

Leonel absentmindedly switched the Segmented Cube into its Lab Setting. It was only now he realized that the Force concentration of the Segmented Cube had actually recovered so quickly. In fact, not only had it recovered, it was the highest concentration Leonel had ever seen it at.

'This should probably be enough for me to form my Seventh and Eighth Nodes…'

Though he thought this, Leonel hesitated to do it. Without knowing where his Ninth should go, he felt a bit doubtful of himself. What if he really was taking the wrong path?

'Maybe I should ask the dictionary…'

Leonel threw this to the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time to think about this. Whether he had nine Nodes or six, he would still need to get as close to the Force geyser as possible if he didn't want to die. What was more important now was figuring out how to deal with this situation.

Leonel's gaze swept across the shelves of snowglobes. By now, they were filled with all sorts of creatures, each perfectly preserved. He had already killed well over 200 beasts since he stepped onto this island, so there were definitely quite a number.

Suddenly Leonel's eyes widened when his gaze landed on the snowglobe housing the SS-grade coy fish's Beast Crystal.

Now that he knew that even the spider king was only of the S-grade, albeit of the Elite S-grade, Leonel had a feeling the coy fish was probably just of the Elite S-grade as well. He didn't believe there was a big difference between the two, it was just that the spider king's ability was too troublesome to deal with.

However, this wasn't the reason Leonel reacted like this. The moment his eyes landed on the Beast Crystal, an idea popped into his head.

Hadn't he ignored King of Seas and Pisces' displeasure precisely so that he could use this Beast Crystal to create an escape type treasure? What if instead of using it to escape, he used it to carve a straight line toward the Force geyser instead?!

Leonel's eyes glowed like two bright torches when he thought to this point. He got so excited that he stirred his aching body a bit too much, causing a jolt of pain to knock him back into reality.

'Having the idea is one thing, but executing on it is a completely different matter. I also don't know if I have the necessary materials to make such a treasure…'

Leonel's brow furrowed, but then he suddenly thought of something.

If the dictionary could scan and find Zones, could it scan and find other things? If that was the case, maybe it wasn't even necessary for him to refine this treasure now.

"Are you able to find your way through these tunnels?" Leonel asked expectantly.

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, Father Overlord has not programmed this function into the dictionary. When Seed is skilled enough, it will be possible to upgrade and modify the dictionary himself. ]

Leonel almost couldn't refrain from rolling his eyes. He should have expected that his father would program in a name like that for himself.

"… What kinds of things can you scan for, then?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, the dictionary can scan for anything within its database. ]

Leonel shook his head at this response. Clearly this was making things more complicated that it needed to be. Essentially, this dictionary had the technology necessary to scan these mines, but not the programming necessary to turn this into useful information for him. It was either that this was an oversight, or his old man was purposely making things difficult for him.

Taking a deep breath, Leonel threw these things to the back of his mind.

"Scan for ore veins within this network of tunnels for me."

Leonel didn't believe that a hive that hosted a Force Crystal Mine Core didn't have other ores lying in wait for his use. This was the ideal environment for the formation of such treasures.

Since he didn't have the materials he needed, he would just have to mine them on his own.

Chapter 167 Logical

When Leonel reappeared within the cave, several eyes looked toward him at once. Their reactions were so quick that Leonel could practically here the wind their spinning heads caused.

Toward such a reaction, he could only smile bitterly. It seemed that they really had been waiting for him. Not a single person was missing from the time he had left to now. What else could they be doing if not waiting for him?

"Have you all come to a decision?" Leonel asked.

The youths looked at one another, but it seemed that the answer to the question was no. They had likely just gotten tired of arguing and let the matter rest for now. At least… that was what Leonel had thought before he realized that many of them were even avoiding his gaze as though being embarrassed by something.

"What about you all?" Leonel asked with narrowed eyes.

Though it was the same question, this time, Leonel very obviously aimed it toward the six others who could be considered near his level of strength.

Pisces stood upon hearing these words, walking toward Leonel with a confident expression. Though there didn't seem to be disdain in her gaze, this was only because she knew that Leonel was much more powerful than she was. However, there seemed to be something that had greatly boosted her boldness regardless.

"While you were away, we came to a consensus as a group."

"Oh? Did you?"

Leonel looked past Pisces, sending a questioning gaze toward the others.

He only got a shrug from Roaring Black Lion. Thunderous Clap avoided his gaze as though he too was embarrassed. As for Chasing Wind, though she met his gaze, there was a tinge of guilt within her eyes. But, for some reason, she would feel even more guilty not meeting Leonel's gaze, so she put in effort to not look away. As for Flowing Wind, she was observing the situation as though she was a passerby, happy to see the world burn.

Though Leonel couldn't see their faces, making it difficult to tell their true intentions, he still had a good idea.

Roaring Black Lion didn't seem to care about what was going on. He only shrugged to show that he had nothing to do with what was happening, but he couldn't do much to change anything either.

Thunderous Clap likely put the most effort into trying to stop what was happening, but he too couldn't move the needle. He seemed to take this much harder than Roaring Black Lion,

something that made Leonel smile beside himself. He found this Thunderous Clap to be quite adorable.

As for Chasing Wind, her gaze seemed to make it seem like she had made the most logical decision for herself. As such, though she felt 'bad' for Leonel, it wasn't to the extent of changing her decision. Her actions of meeting his gaze was to let him know this.

'Interesting, interesting…'

The last person Leonel looked at was King of Seas, he seemed to have the most sour look in his eyes as though he was losing out even more than Leonel. After seeing this, Leonel had a decent idea of what 'decision' these people had come to.

"I don't agree!"

Before Pisces could even explain what was going on, Seer suddenly called out.

"I don't agree either."

Precious Moment affirmed Seer's words.

The two of them had been saved by Leonel at a critical moment. Had it not been for Leonel, they would be dead. How could they agree to this?

In truth, it wasn't just them that had been saved. Even setting aside the fact that Leonel taking the vanguard had kept their casualties to a minimum, there were many others he had directly saved just like the two of them.

"Your opinions were already heard. We came to a consensus as a group. Further words are meaningless. I'm sure you already remember the vote totals." Pisces spoke coldly, not allowing the two to say any more.

She swept a glance of indifference toward them before looking back toward Leonel with her lofty expression as though everything was playing to her tune.

"In your absence, we decided that our best chance at survival was for you to hand over the SS-grade Beast Crystal to me. As long as I ingest it, there is a high chance my ability will mutate to gain some characteristics of the coy fish. In that case, maneuvering through these tunnels will become much safer for us all and we'll be able to follow the advice your treasure gave us."

That day, they had all heard the words of the dictionary. So, they knew well the importance of approaching as closely to the Force geyser as possible before facing its direct might. If Pisces could awaken this ability, it really would be their best chance.

Leonel didn't have much of a reaction to this. Instead, he looked toward King of Seas.

"And why did everyone choose you and not him?"

A tinge of red flashed by King of Seas' gaze. It seemed that he now hated Pisces just as much as he hated Leonel. But, there was nothing he could do about it anymore.

Pisces sneered, thinking that Leonel wanted to sow discord. But, she replied calmly as though everything was still easily within her grasp. In her opinion, the big obstacle had been King of Seas, not Leonel. It wasn't because the former was more powerful than the latter, but because only the former could sway public opinion away from her.

"It's simple, really. King of Seas' affinity with water can only be considered auxiliary. His main ability is his transformation into a merman. This allows him greater defense, strength and speed, in addition to a boost to these things while in the presence of water. Of course, he also gains the ability to breathe under water as well."

Pisces explained patiently and without hurry.

"However, water manipulation is my main ability. Compared to him, the likelihood of my ability mutating is far higher. So, if we were to take a chance on anyone, it should most definitely be me."

Numerous people nodded to this, even Chasing Wind. It seemed that she had also been swayed by this logic. It did indeed make sense. And, in Chasing Wind's opinion, it would be quite selfish of Leonel to refuse. After all, he didn't have a water ability.

"I hope you don't take offense to this." Chasing Wind suddenly spoke. In fact, if Leonel thought about it, this was the first time he had ever heard her voice. "We are only trying out best with what we have. Had you had a water ability, none of us would have agreed to this."

Leonel nodded toward this. He indeed didn't feel angry about this. That said…

"I understand where you all are coming from and there isn't anything wrong with your line of thinking."

Pisces' smile bloomed when she heard this, almost as though the Beast Crystal was already in her hands.

"Unfortunately, I still can't agree."

Toward this, Pisces' expression could only darken.

Chapter 168 Chances

"You…" Pisces swallowed her anger and regained her calm. "… Are you sure that's the decision you want to make? I know that you are very powerful, but this is a matter of life and death for us all, do you understand this?"

Leonel could already sense several hostile gazes aimed toward him. The only ones who didn't seem to have this reaction were Seer and Precious Moment, along with Roaring Black Lion, Thunderous Clap, and, surprisingly, King of Seas. It seemed the last took quite a bit of pleasure in Leonel rejecting Pisces.

Of course, there was also Flowing Wind who seemed excited by this turn of events. Only now would she be able to watch the best show.

Calming Wind furrowed her brows, looking toward Leonel with disappointment.

Leonel shook his head. These people really wanted to fight him?

He had to admit, he really couldn't beat them all. This space was too restricted, for one. And, secondly, his body still hadn't recovered from making sure they all got here safely, ironically. Of course, if he wanted to run, he didn't think that any of them had the speed to keep up with him, but, without the map of the tunnels, there was no telling whether or not he would run into a dead end before he escaped.

Of course, he had already memorized the path they took to get here, but that led outside. What was he going to do, run back to those beast legions? Who knew what kind of wild nonsense was happening out there right now?

Ultimately, he really didn't have the ability to deal with all of them.

Though he was disappointed in what was happening, he could understand where they all were coming from. Those from the Southern Lookout still had a somewhat jaded opinion of him. It was only due to his recent actions that those ill feelings began to turn around somewhat.

However, humans were creatures who often fell victim to group think and confirmation bias. Whatever good impression they had of Leonel was easily overridden by his actions now. To an outside observer, his actions did indeed seem selfish.

From one perspective, Leonel didn't have to give his things to others if he didn't feel like it. But, this time, this matter involved all of their lives. How could they just sit idly by?

"Indomitable, don't

be so shameless. This isn't about you." Ruptured Artery, who already hated Leonel to the core to begin with, couldn't help but to stand out at this moment.

The rowdiness of the group of youths seemed to only grow with each passing moment. Pisces didn't even have to say a word and many had already defended her position for her.

"That's enough, this doesn't need to devolve to violence." Calming Wind finally stood from her seated position, walking toward Leonel.

"Indomitable, please think of the overall situation. Is it really appropriate for you to act in this way?"

Leonel was starting to feel a bit annoyed. After all, he was human. As much as he wanted to be 'understanding', he had limited patience as well. But, still, since he knew their intentions weren't overly sinister, he kept whatever bubbling dissatisfaction he had down.

Instead of exploding with anger, he flipped a palm, allowing a familiar silver disk to appear.

"Scan her ability." Leonel said calmly.

[ *Ping* ]

[ Generating nomenclature… ]

[ Evolution Stage: Tier 6 Black ]

[ Evolution Type: Elemental ]

[ Evolution: Water Sense, Water Manipulation ]

[ Water Sense: Greater affinity for Water Elemental Force. 50% boost in comprehension and power in using water based Force Techniques.? ]

[ Water Manipulation: Control over the Water Element. ]

Pisces widened her eyes. Even the Slayer Legion Lookout hadn't been capable of giving such sharp analysis of her ability. What was going on? And, more importantly, what was Leonel's purpose?

"What is the likelihood she would gain the water metamorphosis ability upon absorbing the coy fish's Beast Crystal?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, Father Overlord did not program this function into the dictionary. Once you are skilled enough, it will be possible to upgrade the dictionary. ]

Pisces, whose heart had constricted, sighed a breath of relief. Her smile bloomed once more as she felt Leonel's display had failed. What would he do now that his little trick was going nowhere?

Leonel, seemingly having expected this, though, didn't show much of a reaction.

"What are the chances of mutating an ability upon the ingestion of a Beast Crystal?"

It seemed that the dictionary wasn't able to perform ultra specific tasks. Leonel had a feeling that his father purposely created it this way. Like this, he would be able to gain supplementary knowledge without relying on the dictionary to do every and anything for him.

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, without a Crystal Absorption Technique, the likelihood is 1 in 10 000. With a Crystal Absorption Technique, the odds are closer to 1 in 10. ]

Pisces' expression, which had just regained some color, paled once again. She definitely didn't have such a technique, or else she definitely wouldn't have reacted this way. But, after a moment, she recovered again.

"I get it, you've proved your point." Pisces said calmly. "But, compared to you who has a 0% chance, my odds are still better."

Those who had begun to falter after hearing the odds steeled their hearts. Pisces was right. A 1% in a 1% chance was still better than a 0% chance.

Leonel pretended as though he hadn't heard Pisces.

"What are the chances a Force Crafter has in extracting a specific ability from a Beast Crystal?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ A Force Crafter with a Crystal Spirit Familiar has a 100% chance. All other Force Crafters have a percentage chance depending on their skill and their strength in comparison to the beast the crystal was taken from. ]

"What are the lowest odds?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, about 10-20% as long as the Beast Crystal shares its Dimensional Grade with the Force Crafter. If trying to extract an ability from a higher Dimensional creature, 0%. ]

"Am I a Force Crafter?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Yes. ]

"What are my odds of success?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Taking Seed's ability into consideration, Seed has a 78% chance of success. ]

"And if I awaken my Metal Synergy Lineage Factor?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ That would allow Seed to take greater advantage of the senses of Seed's Metal Spirit which would boost the chance of sensing the ability in question. In this case, it will be about 92% ]

The more Leonel spoke, the paler Pisces became. It was as though she could see the Beast Crystal she thought of in her dreams slipping away.

Chapter 169 Flowery Words

Leonel was pleasantly surprised that the dictionary was able to give him the odds he needed. He was prepared for it to be unable to do so, just like it wasn't able to read Pisces' specific odds. But, if he thought about it, it made a bit of sense.

The dictionary his father left him had two major purposes. The first was to inform him about things he was ignorant of and the second was to guide his Force Crafting. It made sense that it was unable to use its scanning ability for tasks unrelated to Force Crafting, but could when the topic at hand was crafting itself.

'Since it's like this, it's a bit more acceptable.' Leonel nodded to himself.

"I think a 78% chance is better than a 0.001% chance, right?" Leonel asked.

Pisces gritted her teeth, but she really had no response.

Force Crafting? This was already an incredibly rare profession to begin with. For those of Earth who had just taken their first step toward evolution, the rarity was even more exaggerated. The Force Crafters of Earth could be slotted into two categories. Either they were curious scientists who held positions as researchers even before the Metamorphosis descended, or they were among the very few who awakened Force Crafting related abilities.

This was all to say that this profession wasn't prevalent in their minds. They could have never imagined that someone with combat effectiveness as high as Leonel would also be a Force Crafter. In fact, there were many of them who still didn't know what a Force Crafter even was.

"I hope you all see now that I wasn't trying to be selfish. I really am our best chance. If there's anyone else with a higher probability, I really wouldn't mind handing the Beast Crystal over."

Leonel wasn't saying this just to say it. He really did see the point of view of the youths around him. Their ask of him might have seemed unfair from one perspective, but it was also not overboard either.

In addition, even if he had to give the coy fish's Beast Crystal over, he could still bet on himself by trying to complete a similar treasure using the bear king's Beast Crystal. The only reason he had set it aside for now was because the bear king's body was contaminated.

At this point, Calming Wind felt a bit embarrassed.

She had gone from, albeit somewhat reluctantly, meeting Leonel's gaze, to now wanting to find a place to hide herself as quickly as possible.

Bowing her head slightly, she apologized sincerely.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't say anything else as she retreated, causing Leonel to have a better impression of her. It seemed that the youths from the Southern Lookout really weren't bad.

"It's not a big deal, I didn't take any of it personally." Leonel replied, causing many to sigh a breath of relief.

The gritting of Pisces' teeth was practically audible. She had been so close, all for it to come crumbling down.

"How can we take your treasure's words seriously? How do we know you didn't make it say that?"

The moment she spoke these words, she instantly regretted it. Her hatred had clouded her vision, causing her to say something stupid. At that point, it wasn't just Leonel who looked toward her with a weird gaze.

If she didn't trust the dictionary so much, why did she use its words as an excuse before when she thought getting the Beast Crystal was possible? It seemed more than a little selfish to say something like this now.

"Forget it, do whatever you want." Pisces was unwilling to hear the response she was sure she'd receive, so she cut her losses quickly, retreating to her previous sitting position.

Leonel sighed when he saw the animosity in her eyes. Everything had been so much easier before the Metamorphosis.

"I still need some time to finish the craft. A few days to find the materials I need and another few days to blueprint everything. In at most a week, it should be completed."

The youths nodded toward Leonel's words, but they were still feeling a bit anxious. It had only been two days since they entered this cave, but there were already many problems to face.

Many of them wanted to wash themselves, but had no place to do so. Compounding with that, there was no place for them to… release themselves, so many had to travel out of the cave to find uninhabited corners to release their bowels. It was the kind of situation that most definitely couldn't last for very long.

Luckily, many of them had come with abode type treasures. After all, they knew comfort would be a luxury on the Hunt. It was thanks to this that things were somewhat better.

But, the reserves of water and food would be quickly eaten into.

Seeing this, Leonel knew he had to settle their hearts. So, without hesitation, he took out three large beast corpses.

"Those of you with fire abilities, help the others separate out and cook this meat. Don't worry, I have enough meat to last us a few months. As for water…"

Leonel turned a gaze toward Pisces. "I hope that Pisces will help us out with this. With the density of Force in the air and the help of your ability, I'm sure that condensing large amounts of water from the air shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Pisces' eyes flashed with a clever glint, but in the next moment, she poured a bucket of cold water over her own schemes. The same way she could use public opinion to sway Leonel, Leonel could do the same to her as well. In fact, it was even more effective on her since Leonel was so much stronger than she was.

If she really tried to withhold water from these youths, her ending wouldn't be very good. In the end, she could only nod.

Leonel smiled brightly, taking off his mask. The youths were stunned by this, not thinking he would do such a thing.

"So handsome." Flowing Wind's eyes lit up as though she wanted to eat Leonel up from where he stood.

"You can all call me Leonel. We're all in this together." Leonel said lightly. "I'm not here to lead you all, nor will I make you do anything you don't want to do. As long as we stick together, getting out won't be a problem. I promise."

"Tch, you pretty playboy." Roaring Black Lion said. "Don't you know saying such flowery words only makes them want to follow you more?"

His sudden comment made many look at one another and burst into laughter. It felt like a weight that had been on everyone's shoulders suddenly dissipated.

Chapter 170 Elemental Vessel

After settling everything, Leonel stepped out from the cave, numerous eyes on his back as he vanished into the darkness.

Watching his receding figure, King of Seas couldn't help but laugh. It seemed he got a kick out of seeing Pisces eating shit. All the anger he had had in the past day vanished into thin air, leaving him feeling comfortable.

It could only be said that humans were indeed weird creatures. King of Seas had gone from hating Leonel's guts to supporting him in the span of a day.

As for Pisces, she could only hatefully glare in Leonel's direction, but there was nothing she could do. Just like the logic had once been on her side, it was now on his. As if that wasn't bad enough… she didn't expect Leonel to have so much charisma…

Leonel leisurely strolled through the dark tunnels. Though he was still feeling the pain of his injuries and there was a severe lack of light in his surroundings, he was quite comfortable now.

'This might be a better opportunity than I originally gave it credit for.' Leonel smiled so widely his eyes squinted.

The reason Leonel was so happy was because when he asked the dictionary to scan the surroundings for ore veins, the results had been far beyond his expectations. The hive was practically a treasure trove!

Though the Force Eruption was only now occurring, it could be said that this Force Crystal Mine had been maturing for a long time already. As a result, this was the best environment Earth had for the creation of Fourth Dimensional minerals.

Not only was the presence of Pseudo Fourth Dimensional minerals incredibly high, but there were even some veins that had already manifested true Fourth Dimensional minerals.

It could be said that Earth's progress in metallurgy was far beyond that of many worlds of their stature. However, the fundamental truth was that these alloys were still fragile in the face of Force.

This was why Leonel had to fuse Urbe Ore into the alloys he took from the sniper rifle. If he didn't do this, his pistol crafts would have been even more fragile than they were now.

However, if Leonel were to use Pseudo and true Fourth Dimensional metals in his crafts, he would be able to create higher grade crafts with less effort.

In addition, even though Fourth Dimensional metals he was still too weak to refine could be saved for the future. In all likelihood,

these metals would be very valuable even in true Fourth Dimensional worlds!

But now, Leonel practically had them all to himself. Thanks to the dictionary, he could easily find them through the thick walls. And, with the help of Little Tolly, the mining process wouldn't be much of an issue either.

Seemingly sensing Leonel's excitement, the little Metal Spirit coiling around his fingers bubbled with happiness, eager to be of help.

Leonel smiled lightly, watching the little guy play around his hands.

'Alright, the first target is the closest, a vein of Whispering Breeze Ore…'

Leonel quickly made his way forward. He ran into several dead ends at first since the dictionary could only point him in the general direction, but he eventually inched closer, memorizing the pathways as he went along.

Soon, Leonel had made it to a seemingly ordinary wall of earth. Other than being slightly damp and cold to the touch, there was nothing different about it. But, Leonel trusted the dictionary.

"Alright little guy, let's start."

Little Tolly split into numerous little silver balls, bouncing around Leonel's hands with excitement before it coated the latter's palms.

Leonel pressed his hands into the wall, entering Spirit Unity and using Toliver's keen senses toward valuable minerals to 'see' the hidden veins.

'There it is…'

After sensing it, Leonel began to channel Force into his Metal Spirit. Not much unlike projecting the shape of the part he wanted, Leonel made sure to only carefully carve away the pieces of earth not related to the valuable ore.

In truth, Little Tolly did most of the work. Even without Leonel's support, it was made to melt away and absorb minerals. In fact, it might very well be possible for Leonel to rely on his Familiar to carve a path toward the Force Eruption rather than forging a craft with the coy fish's Beast Crystal. The only reason he hadn't was because he didn't want to overwork the little guy.

Carving out a bit of rock covering a vein was one thing, but digging through hundreds of meters of earth was a complete other thing.

Soon, a silvery green metal shone before Leonel. It had quite a resplendent light as though it was crowned by a halo.

Higher Dimensional metals always had halos like this. The only exception was Black Urbe Ore. As long as it was within a world beneath its Dimensional grade, it would always shine like this as though scared others were unaware of its value.

The more Dimensional grades a metal surpassed its current world by, the grander the halos that covered it would be. Similar logic followed for other natural treasures and even beasts and humans.

'Whispering Breeze Ore… Its an excellent Wind Elemental Vessel and known for its sharpness and light weight. Not bad. It might be useful when I finally get around to making the movement treasure…'

Leonel would often think of Captain Sela's chariot. Though she was a vile human being, her chariot wasn't at fault.

'Elemental Vessels' were a type of ore. Just like Urbe Ore which was a great foundational metal, known for its ability to stabilize two opposing minerals that would otherwise not mesh, there were other families of metals as well. Elemental Vessels was a family that had an advantage toward containing certain Elemental Force types.

As a Wind Elemental Vessel, Whispering Breeze Ore was exceptionally good at containing the Wind Element. It also got its name due to its high level of stability. Its able to take in a large amount of Wind Element and make use of it while maintaining quiet and steady operation. This was quite ideal for forging a vehicle.

Leonel smiled brightly. For the little guy, chewing through the normal rock around the vein wasn't a problem. It didn't even take half an hour before it was completely exposed. After that, Leonel could practically pull out the whole thing with his bare hands.

'One down, hopefully many more to go… I'll definitely need to find a good Water Elemental Vessel… If I can find a Dual Water-Earth Elemental Vessel, I might be able to make the craft even better by integrating the coy fish's and the bear king's Beast Crystals…'

It seemed the saying really was true. There were only benefits to gain in the midst of danger.

At any other time, such a large treasury of minerals would have been monopolized by The Empire or the Slayer Legion. But now… As much as Leonel could take, he would take.

Chapter 171 Red

Many hours later, one could find Leonel in a familiar position. His hands were pressed flush against a wall as Force slowly flowed out from his hands.

Though this seemed simple for him, it was actually quite difficult. Since he forewent placing Force Nodes in his hands, it was a bit more difficult for him in comparison to another to achieve this result. But, with how high his spirit was, how could his Force control not also be great?

Soon, another ore had manifested. This time, it radiated a dirty gold light. It was quite similar to the fur coat of the bear king, albeit much less resplendent.

'Black Tempered Vein Ore…' Leonel smiled happily.

Vein Ores were another family of metals. They could be considered another ore type that was almost as important as Urbe Ores. However, they were just barely lacking.

In truth, the value of Vein Ores was above Urbe Ores. However, the reason Urbe Ores could be considered a step above in usefulness was because it had an impossibly wide variety of applications. One could use Urbe Ores in practically every Force Craft imaginable. It was for this reason that the universal currency of the universe were Urbe Coins.

However, Vein Ores were used in particularly intricate creations. They had characteristics very similar to Force pathways that linked one's Force Nodes. When they were used in crafts, they allowed Force to flow more freely.

That said, this wasn't the most important use of Vein Ores. Their greatest use was in drawing more permanent Force Arts.

Take for example Leonel's pistol craft. He had to draw the Force Arts directly onto the alloys he fused with his Black Urbe Ore. However, had he liquefied a compatible Vein Ore first, and then used it to inscribe the Force Arts, their power would gain a great boost. In addition, it would greatly strengthen the nozzles as well, allowing them to withstand many more shots.

There was a final more secretive use of Vein Ores as well. In fact, Leonel wouldn't even be aware of this had it not been for the words of the creator of [Dimensional Cleanse].

According to the creator, there was a special type of Vein Ore that could be absorbed. The special energies of this Vein Ore could be used to strengthen one's Force Nodes.

Though this wouldn't increase the amount of Force one could hold, there were many other benefits to this.

Firstly, it would be possible to replenish one's Force Nodes faster. It was necessary for many to artificially cap their

consumption of Force to avoid damaging one's Force Nodes. Though Force Nodes are self-created, they can't be willfully abandoned. This is a law enforced by the Universe itself. So, injuries to Force Nodes needed to be avoided at all costs.

Secondly, this would make it easier to compress Force Nodes in the future when it becomes necessary to cross the boundary of a higher Dimensional body.

For someone like Leonel, this second point was especially important. Though his Force Nodes being constructed of a hundred cells sounded grandiose, the truth was that this made his future path far more difficult as well. The more Force he had, the harder it was to compress, and the more pressure there would be on his body.

The third reason was enough for any Force cultivator to go wild with greed. Everyone was limited in the number and length of Force pathways they could create. Especially in the beginning phases of creating a Fourth Dimensional body, many could only connect their Force Nodes via a single path. But, this greatly limited their Force wielding abilities.

With the help of a special Vein Ore, it was possible to create many more Force Pathways, allowing one to unlock many Force wielding abilities usually reserved for higher Dimensional warriors.

This aside, there was a fourth reason that would greatly benefit Leonel even now.

If his Force Nodes were sturdier… wouldn't it also be much easier to withstand the Force Eruption?

Unfortunately, Black Tempered Vein Ore wasn't the Vein Ore he needed to undergo this process. In addition, according to the author of [Dimensional Cleanse], it was best to wait until forming all nine Nodes before undergoing this tempering process. So, no matter how eager Leonel was for this benefit, he could only throw it to the back of his mind.

'Alright, I think I've cleared out all the ore veins in this section of tunnels… as expected, not all the tunnels are linked. If I want to explore more tunnels, I'll have to leave the hive and enter through another entrance…'

Leonel was hesitant to do this. He didn't know what the situation was outside. If he left, he would probably expose everyone to danger again. Even if he set everyone else apart, he still needed to worry about himself. After all, he would still need a while longer to recover to his peak.

'Forget it, forget it. I've harvested enough for now and have all the materials I need. Even though I didn't find a Dual Water-Earth Elemental Vessel ore, I did find an Earth one. If I combined that with the Rushing River Vein Ore I found, it would still be possible to combine the two Beast Crystal abilities…'

Much like Elemental Vessels, there were different types of Vein Ores as well. Rushing River Vein Ores were especially good at inscribing for Water Elemental Force Arts. So, if Leonel was careful with his planning, it would be possible to combine the two without much issue.

Just like before, Leonel took his time to dig the entire vein out. He knew that if he kept the core of the vein intact, it might be possible for the vein to grow more ores for him in the future. Who knows, maybe the Segmented Cube had this ability as well. Even if it didn't, Leonel would still do this.

Just when Leonel was content with his gains and about to return to the cave to get started on the blueprints, his steps suddenly froze.

There, on the wall he just extracted the vein from, there were faint cracks.

It was incredibly difficult to spot, but there seemed to be a faint light coming from the other side. If it wasn't for the fact most of the hive was so dark, it wouldn't have been so hard for Leonel to spot the cracks because even if his side was dark, the other side would be flooded with light.

'This part of the wall is so thin…? I can probably pass my Internal Sight through then to see if it's worth getting Little Tolly's help to knock it away. It might not necessarily be a good thing to have a path to another network of tunnels…'

After having this thought, Leonel snaked his Internal Sight forward, passing through the gaps to see what was on the other side. But, the result left him stunned speechless.

Not only was the other side almost like an entire separate world, what shocked him the most was that there were actually other people there. Not just the fact they were other people, but the fact they were other people with characteristics Leonel was all too familiar with.

'Red hair… red eyes… The Brazinger Clan?'

Chapter 172 World Of Green

Leonel was shocked. The very last group of people he could have ever expected to find here was the Brazinger Clan. Wasn't this the personal island of the Slayer Legion? Didn't they monitor it? Were they really so incompetent to allow others to sneak in here so easily?

Leonel had already had a hard time taking the Slayer Legion seriously, but it felt as though their every action really only made him look down on them more.

After a while, he calmed himself. He realized that he had only reacted like this because of how hard the past few days had been. It seemed that even he needed someone to vent his frustration on.

'Stay calm…' Leonel closed his eyes, steadying his breathing and his heart rate.

He had already promised himself to remain calm in all things. It was still hard since he was just an 18 year old boy, but not everyone was made perfect in a day. In time, he'd temper his disposition.

After Leonel steadied himself, he began thinking of what could possibly be happening here.

He doubted that the Brazinger Clan had come in after them, there was a high probability they had come here first. In that case, could it be the Force Eruption was predicted by them? Or was it that they wanted to take advantage of the ore treasury that was this hive?

'There's another possibility as well…' Leonel furrowed his brows. '… According to Old Hutch, things aren't so simple as they seem on the surface. Could it be that these Project Hunt Islands were never the sole property of the Slayer Legion to begin with?'

When Leonel had this thought, he felt that his whole world had been turned upside down.

Hutch seemed to talk like the decision to let the commoners of the Paradise Islands die was a mutual decision. Was the relationship between the rebels and The Empire really so simple?

The more Leonel thought about it, the more confused he became.

'Forget it, thinking about it myself won't get me anywhere. I'll observe them first.'

…

The space on the other side of the cracks really did seem like an entirely different world. It felt as though one had to step inside a spatial crack to reach it, but the truth of the matter

was that it was within the hive just like every place else.

Though the space was dark much like the other network of tunnels, there was a dim halo of light around it. This light didn't come from the sun, but rather the countless plants littered all around!

That was right, this space within the hive looked no different than a garden. And, the halos of light being emitted from the plants were none other than the halos natural treasures had in the presence of a lower Dimensional world!

There didn't seem to be any large source of water anywhere within the cave, making their existence baffling. The only hints of liquid were the drippings that fell from the stalactites on the ceiling.

'Mellow Dew Stalactites!'

Leonel trembled slightly.

Mellow Dew Stalactites could form a single drop a day. Each one of these drops were the greatest nourishment for natural treasures, whether those natural treasures were plants like the ones in this cave space, or the current ores in Leonel's possession.

The dew drops also had exceptionally high concentrations of Force. They could essentially liquefy Force, creating what could be classified as a Force Strengthening Deviation despite the fact it had no other characteristics aside from its high concentrations.

Just to put these matters into perspective, just a single drop from these Stalactites was enough to form any one of Leonel's Stars. This was how exaggerated the matter was.

Yet, the ceiling of this place was formed by at least 50 Mellow Dew Stalactites. It was no wonder this place didn't need any water to grow so many wonderful plants. A single drop of that dew would be enough to raise even an acre of Fourth Dimensional plants without issue.

Unfortunately, Leonel didn't know what these plants were. He could tell they were valuable, but he wasn't a Force Pill Refiner, so how could he know anything about them? Luckily, he could rely on the dictionary if need be. He was certain these higher Dimensional plants were in its database.

"Wow, I didn't think we'd find something like this. How do you think these plants managed to grow here?"

There were two men, both of similar stature. They seemed to realize they had stumbled upon something valuable, but they didn't know how valuable it was. Their knowledge was limited. All they knew was that due to all these halos of light, these were definitely at least Fourth Dimensional herbs.

"Let's mark this place down and let the Young Lord know about it. Right now, the priority is still to find a path toward the Force Crystal Mine. We're running out of time."

Leonel's gaze flashed. 'Young Lord? Could he be talking about that monocle guy?'

A hardly concealed rage flashed through Leonel's gaze. He had always been one who found it difficult to kill. It was only after countless battles that his heart began to slowly accept the kind of world he lived in now. However, if there was someone he wouldn't hesitate to kill, two someones, actually… it was the Junior Governor Duke and that monocle wearing young lord of the Brazinger Clan.

'It seems they split up to cover more ground. Their aim is also the Force Crystal Mine… I can't guarantee that monocle wearing bastard won't be interested enough in this place to set everything aside to come here first. These two might not know the value of Mellow Dew Stalictite, but that doesn't mean he won't…'

A resolute glint took hold of Leonel's gaze. Though he was injured, he was still confident in taking on these two. Plus, if he could capture them, he might be able to dig out more information about what the Brazinger Clan was doing here and if they had any connection to the Slayer Legion…

'No, they shouldn't have a connection, or else we wouldn't have been sent here at this time.'

Even as Leonel was thinking this, he had already sprung into action. Taking advantage of the darkness, he stealthily had Little Tolly devour the thin, cracked wall and rolled into the world of grass and plants.

Without hesitation, he quickly followed after the two men who had just left the wide space of greenery.

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