Chapter 2494: [Bonus] Stars

[Bonus chappy thanks to Mr. Ham <3 (6/6)]

Leonel looked up, frowning. He sensed quite a powerful wave of Dream Force just now, and it caught him off guard.

His first assumption was that the Dream Pavilion was using a method beyond his understanding to look for him. After all, Mo'Lexi hadn't been the only one that showed up that day; there was another Dream Force user as well, and he seemed to be very interested in him.

However, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.

'That wasn't normal,' was the only thing Leonel could think. But he didn't have enough information to make a conclusion about it; he just felt an itch within him that was pointing toward that direction.

He had said he should wait until he was in the Fourth Dimension to go to the Dream Pavilion, but should he wait that long? He wasn't sure anymore.

"Hm?"

Leonel turned back and realized that there were still people talking to him. He had actually gotten so distracted that he forgot to split his attention. But in his defense, he had thought an attempt had just been made on his life; he didn't have the presence of mind to spend on anything else at that point.

"... It should all be ready now. I think it's right," Goggles finished.

Leonel looked up and scanned the empty city. Then he nodded.

"Alright, good enough then, I guess."

Goggles hesitated for a moment.

"Just speak your mind," Leonel smiled.

"I... I want to become as strong as you are, how can I do that?"

Leonel blinked. He didn't remember Goggles being so ambitious, but then again, back in the Valiant Heart Zone, they thought the pinnacle of power was King Alexandre. In this world though, the peak was far beyond Goggles that he couldn't even fathom it.

Back then Goggles had been in the Fourth Dimension like he was now, but King Alexandre was someone they all thought to be a Quasi Fifth Dimensional expert. Although it was a distance away, it was still manageable.

Plus, Leonel had been in the Third Dimension back then. It would have been weird if Goggles asked how he could become as powerful as him while he was technically "weaker" than him.

Leonel's smile became more meaningful. "Don't you know how powerful your Ability Index is? I should probably be getting tips from you."

Goggles seemed to be quite shy about receiving this sort of praise.

"I understand my Ability Index quite well. But... well, it's almost like circular logic. I need information to intuitively understand things, but to get information about it, I need my Ability Index. So it's relatively easier for me to get a deeper understanding of the things around me, but ironically very difficult for me to understand myself."

Leonel nodded after some thought. It was true. Unlike Aina, it wasn't as though Goggles could use his Ability Index like a form of Clairvoyance.

Indeed, it was no wonder, then, that Goggles' advancement had stalled for so long, especially since he didn't have a Lineage Factor to supplement his ability.

"I think the first thing you'll need is some understanding of Dream Force. I think that just by virtue of your Ability Index, your natural Dream Force affinity shouldn't be bad as they're somewhat inter-related.

"Once your Dream Force comprehension reaches a certain level, I can let you see the Force Art that constitutes your Ability Index.

"I'll be honest with you, Goggles. In the past, even I couldn't look at your Ability Index's Force Art for long without getting a splitting headache. It's only recently that I had a breakthrough that allowed me to do so. So you have a long way to go."

Goggles' gaze flashed. "I understand. In that case, what do I do?"

Leonel fell into his thoughts. He had never had to teach someone else how to use Dream Force before, but he recalled the day he swapped his Soul Force for Dream Force.

'In that case...'

"Here," Leonel handed Goggles a familiar booklet. It was this very booklet that held the foundation of [Dimensional Cleanse] within it.

This was the same booklet that Leonel had exchanged after completing his very first Zone, the very one that he had first cracked open in the Joan Zone and the technique his uncle had recommended for him.

He had kept it with him all this time mostly because there wasn't really a reason to get rid of it. Plus, it had some sentimental value.

"I guess the first place would be comprehending this technique. See what you can do and how many Stars you can form. Try to form at least one Star of Soul Force. If you can do that, I should probably be correct about your Dream Force affinity."

Leonel actually wasn't sure how others would fare when using this technique. However, what he did know was that he had yet to meet anyone who could form nine Stars, let alone ten like he had.

In fact, he didn't know a single person who had succeeded in forming even three of them.

He wasn't sure if it was just that the talent of the Incomplete World was so inferior, or if there was another reason. But regardless, Goggles would be a good yardstick so that he could measure his expectations for everyone else.

"Thank you!" Goggles said, feeling a hint of excitement.

Leonel smiled and let Goggles return to the Segmented Cube.

Soon, his smile faded, and he frowned as he looked up in the sky. He didn't know why, but he felt uncomfortable.

'Just what was that?'

Leonel hopped up to the top of a building teeming with pipes and then left through an emergency hatch. Now, the city was completely empty below and was the perfect rat trap. It seemed that he would just have to wait for their enemies to fall into it.

Even so, his mind was still completely focused on the feeling from earlier.

'I have to go... but first...'

First he needed to deal with this situation.