Chapter 2604: More

"Success..." A smile spread across Leonel's face. It had been a long time since he felt such a sense of accomplishment. It was funny to say so, considering he had had so many breakthroughs recently. But there was just something about Crafting that he liked more than most other things.

And now, he felt that that feeling would only grow all the more. With this new view of Crafting, it felt like every Crafting project was another puzzle to sort out. Not only would he need to think about which Ores to use-something that he would normally need to do anyway-but he would have to think about not only how they interacted with one another, but also what Force Arts he would use and how said Force Art would change the way they interacted with one another. On top of that, he would need to think of a method of conveying his thoughts through said Force Art, essentially creating a new Force Art language every time he Crafted something, maybe even a new language multiple times for a given Craft.

It just felt so mentally stimulating.

He realized now how silly it was that it had taken him so long to realize he was a Wise Star Order. It was so obvious now thinking retrospectively.

Most things he did in his life until he learned about Crafting were purely out of his competitive instinct. Even Crafting had somewhat started like that; he just wanted to one-up his dad.

But it quickly became something different; it was like an endless well of knowledge he could constantly be curious about. Even when he thought he reached the end of it, there would always be more.

And he loved that.

Leonel was already eager to move on from Complexity to Simplicity, but he took a step back.

He had already been in the Lab Setting for a while and he hadn't seen anyone for a long time. The old him would have gotten lost in this feeling for even longer, likely not coming out until he had already grasped the Self Path.

Who knows how long that would have taken? By his calculations, probably a few months at least, between three months to half a year.

All things considered, that was a very short amount of time, and it was a testament to the current strength of his Dream Force and Dream Sovereignty.

But he had other things to do.

He crossed into the Abode Setting. He then stumbled across a couple he had basically forgotten about.

In the distance, Simona and Eduardo sat shoulder to shoulder, leaning against one another. Sensing the fluctuations of their souls, they felt quite a bit of peace, but also a lot of trepidation for the future.

Leonel's chuckle caught them off guard and they immediately spun back as though they were ready for battle.

Leonel didn't seem fazed. Eduardo was a danger to him in the past, but even then, while they were in Anastasia's world, he had complete control over them.

Honestly, anything that he would have needed these two for had already long since passed. He didn't think that the Godlens were a threat to him anymore... though, their movements as of lately were odd.

Giving them a smile, Leonel turned and walked and vanished; he hadn't come here for them.

"Wait!" Simona called out, but Leonel was already gone.

Of course, Leonel could hear her just as well from anywhere within the world; he just didn't care to return.

...

"You seem to be progressing well," Leonel gave Goggles a grin.

"Ah, yes," Goggles spoke as he quickly scrambled to his feet, a hint of subservience in his eyes, as well as hints of eagerness as he hoped that Leonel would give him another opportunity to improve.

Leonel sighed. He missed the old relationship he had with Goggles, but it seemed that that would no longer be possible.

'No, it's still possible... I just have to give it time and more effort than I am...'

Leonel had given Goggles [Dimensional Cleanse] to practice, and he had managed to form two Stars.

Honestly, Leonel had been expecting more out of Goggles, but when he thought about it, he really didn't know anyone who had managed to form as many as him. Maybe this was just normal.

"Alright, I won't disturb you for too long. Be sure to check on the others for me. I heard that Normand's and Rollan's families are both expecting children."

Goggles smiled and nodded.

With that, Leonel turned and left once again. As much as he wanted to check on Rollan, that former good friend of his, he felt that they weren't close enough after the resurrection to do so.

Leonel could remember spending long periods of time with Rollan and his wife, even living under the same roof.

But now, they were practically strangers.

The best he could do was try to be there for them when he could. He would help them grow more powerful, and hopefully, they would grow close again one day.

At the very least... he wasn't alone. He had a wife of his own now, and he also had his brothers.

Leonel took another step and vanished, appearing before a group of sparring men.

He plopped down between Joel and Allan, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

"Hey Joel, guess who I found."

"Hm?" Joel was stunned by Leonel's sudden appearance but immediately drawn in by the question.

Leonel's grin widened. "A certain sandy-haired blond."

Joel froze. "Did you? Did you really?"

Leonel's laughter boomed.

"I didn't just find a sandy-haired blond, but I also found a certain sadistic Half-Spiritual too."

Raj, who was taking his turn at wrestling Arnold, was instantly swept off his feet, hitting the ground so hard he saw stars.

Leonel's laughter continued to echo. He couldn't even believe that he didn't come to tell them this immediately. It felt good to change his ways.

"Since we're going to do this, we might as well do it right," Leonel said with a grin. "This world needs more little babies crawling around."