Dimensional Descent

 Challenge of Innate Nodes

Leonel exhaled a slow breath, his back straightening and his knees locking out. His muscles flexed, and his gaze flashed.

He didn't ignore the weight, nor did he shrug it off.

This time, he understood the importance of it. It might slow his steps, but it would also make his fists heavier. When he swung, his enemies would feel the weight of everything he carried.

His palms squeezed down, and the spear in his hand shattered.

'You fight for yourself. I fight for everyone.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

The crown above Leonel's head flickered before it slowly faded along with the halos around his wrists.

With a step, he continued forward.

The first leg of the Idol Battlefield was a checkpoint of sorts. Only those that could pass it would enter the true challenge of the Idol Battlefield.

This forest of monkeys was precisely that. They might have the Spear Force and Bow Force of the Dharma level, but it was hollow, and their overall physical attributes were limited.

For those that couldn't form their own weapons, it would be a bit of a challenge, as one would have limited avenues to attack. But Leonel's other Forces weren't limited at all. As such, using his Scarlet Star Force to forge his spear, like he had done in the past, was very easy.

But... right now, he was just walking in silence, quietly observing the forest as though he wasn't in a rush at all.

Because of his fury, he had already killed all the monkeys. The entire forest had already been cleared, and not a single tree, other than the one a monkey had sent an arrow through, had been harmed. Walking to the end of the forest would lead him to an exit, and that was what he was currently doing. It was just odd that he was moving so slowly.

Well, there wasn't a need to move quickly. Time wasn't much of a factor on the Idol Battlefield usually. Everyone's destination, if they made it far enough, would be the same.

Still, the real reason Leonel was taking his time wasn't just for the sake of resting.

He suddenly paused, stopping by a tree and reaching up for a leaf. Ile almost caressed the leaf, his gaze flickering for a long while before he continued.

He did this several times as though he was looking for something or analyzing something.

'Interesting...'

The Idol Battlefield reminded him a lot of his Innate Node, which was why Leonel was so interested in it. He had seen something interesting in his grandfather's information about it.

According to the information, everything on this Idol Battlefield functioned through the fundamental laws of the world, the very same fundamental laws that came together to form Weapon Forces.

That meant that the Idol Battlefield might be exceptionally dangerous, but it was also the easiest location there was to feel, sense, and even improve one's Weapon Forces.

By now, his Spear and Bow Forces had already reached the extremities of the Creation State, but

reaching beyond was a bit more complicated for him because of one reason...

His Innate Node.

Much like El'Rion had said, if the Pluto wanted, they could have given him ten Innate Nodes. The reason they didn't wasn't clear to Leonel back then, but he had had many guesses since.

Now that he was on the verge of reaching the Dharma Realms, he could feel it much more clearly. Innate Nodes worked by communing with Existence to make the manifestation and creation of some Forces far easier.

But the formation of a Dharma, to a lesser degree, and a Dharma especially, meant carving out your own path forward.

How could you both rely on Existence and forge off on your own at the same time?

Because of this disparity, even if one was naturally born with an Innate Node, it was usually a bit more difficult to reach this level.

If you added one after the fact, it was even harder.

However, Leonel was a particularly special case.

His Innate Node was one that had never appeared before, and it gave him a unique jurisdiction over a particular set of laws.

But that was also just a fancy way of saying that Existence gave him practically free reign over Spear and Bow Force in a lot of ways. And because of that... he was uniquely screwed as a result.

It would be even harder for him than others with Innate Nodes to do this, even if it was self-created. Leonel wasn't particularly worried about this before. He felt he had time. In fact, he had forced his King Force to become a Dharma instead of an Idol so that he could slowly raise all of his Forces to the proper Dharma level and then fuse them all together to form the ultimate Idol.

But now... he was suddenly on a time crunch, and he felt that he wasn't improving nearly fast enough.

And this was the second reason he had entered the Idol Battlefield.

He was here not just to try and throw the plans of the Demoness off, but to also find an opportunity to improve quickly...

And everything here was exactly that sort of opportunity.

Energy was something that he could always accumulate. If he really went all out, he could just make more enemies to gather the Forces he needed to make it to the Ninth Dimension. He already had all the necessary comprehension.

But if he couldn't form his Idol, he would never be a match for the Demoness regardless of what his Dimension was.

'It really is a treasure well... This Idol Battlefield is perfect for me. The key to my Idol will be Creation and Destruction, but that means if I want my Weapon Forces to reach the Dharma Realm, they'll need to gain that character on their own first...

'A world like this, created with the same building blocks as what's used to form Weapon Forces, is exactly what I need to study...

'And if I add my knowledge of Sub-Dimensional Zones on top of that...

Leonel's aura began to subtly change as he walked slowly through the forest.