Leonel breathed heavily.
His body was still fine, not having suffered any wounds just yet. But, anyone who had been watching him battle previously would notice quite a striking difference: you could actually see the skin tight black fabric that wrapped around him, making his arm sling and useless right arm all the more obvious.
Leonel had been right. By the end of the seventh floor, he had run out of flying daggers and needles, making his life a living hell on the eighth. It had taken him almost ten minutes to clear the whole of the eighth floor, and the ninth floor started off even worse.
The beasts from the fifth floor to this point had all been in Tier 1 of the Sixth Dimension, however they had all been relatively weak and easier to handle. If Leonel had to describe it, it wasn't quite like what fighting Sixth Dimensional experts from the Milky Way would feel like, but it was only barely a step above.
The difficulty of these towers obviously wasn't in quality, at least not for this version. It was more so in quantity… Until the ninth floor, that is.
Leonel was suddenly faced with a horde of blue furred, four armed apes. Runes flickered about their bodies, giving Leonel a sort of stifling feeling, as though no matter how hard he attacked them, he would never be able to break through their defenses.
Leonel didn't quite understand where these Runes were coming from, if they were similar to his own Destruction Runes, or something entirely different. But, once he stepped into the God Path, he would understand what these Runes represented and exactly why it was Conon had said stepping into the Sixth Dimension would help them all to close the gap between themselves and Leonel's Innate Node.
These were indeed Runes similar to Leonel's Destruction Runes, and they were, indeed, primed toward defense. And yes… That did mean that Leonel's task had suddenly become another living nightmare.
'… Shit.'
…
It was suffice to say that Leonel's record breaking streak had come to an end, they could all see it. But, they could also see the reasons why this was. No one knew the details of this year's True Selection, but it had caused a major commotion that resulted in even Void Senate members clashing heads.
Just looking at Leonel and Amery, it was clear that the both of them had taken this the hardest.
But, by contrast, Aina only seemed to shine brighter. Leonel had done the bulk of the work when it came to battling in the Rapax Nest, much to her dissatisfaction, so this was clearly one reason. But, the truth was that even if this wasn't the case…
Simply put, Aina's stamina was quite literally endless. And, even if she somehow ran into a wall, she could just snatch stamina from others.
When you could tap into your Life Force and the Life Force of others whenever you pleased, 'physical limitations' wasn't something you would ever face, at least not when you were in your right mind.
The 'Berserk' state that Aina's previously faulty Berserk God Lineage Factor sent her into was almost always the reason she spiraled out of control and over extended herself. Now that she was healed, that was nothing more than a problem of the past. If she needed to battle for months or even years without rest… she could do so.
…
Leonel was forced into a corner, unable to dodge as a fist half the size of his body crashed right into his chest.
Luckily, he managed to activate his Bronze Runes first, mitigating much of the damage. But, this was just yet another stamina drain that he now had to sustain.
Blood flew from his lips, his ribs threatening to crack as he was sent barrelling away. Maybe the worst part of the situation was that the only reason his ribs had managed to survive was because his right arm was slung across his body, forcing it to take the brunt of the hit.
The pain was like a fire lighting in his flesh and Leonel's mind threatened to go blank for a moment. If not for a timely use of Dream Sense, it might have really happened.
He crashed against the ground, managing to use the momentum to spring up and flip to his feet, his heel still grinding into the ground as he slid backward.
There was only one enormous ape left. He was certain that he had already shot well over the ten minute mark, but he wasn't even aware of a leaderboard to begin with, so these matters were the furthest thing from his mind.
'I guess… That's the only way…'
Leonel took deep breaths, wiping the blood from his mouth before his aura surged one more time.
The images of an enormous red-gold star appeared above his head. He pointed two fingers toward the sky, wild Spear Force forming and concentrating before shooting upward.
The blue ape had entered a mad charge, barreling toward Leonel on all fours as it lumbered over.
In that moment, the concentrated Spear Force began to swirl about the three-meter tall star, quickly forming the tip of a drill that spun faster and faster and faster.
Leonel breathed heavily, pushing his Universal Force to its limits as the ape entered a ten meter range.
His fingers descended from the sky, pointing right at the charging ape.
"Die."
The star shot forward, the golden drill before it acting as a vanguard as it tore through space, appearing before the charging ape in the blink of an eye.
The ape rose to its hind legs, its chest expanding and the Runes upon it glowing with a fierce light. It roared out, smashing two fists toward the rotating drill.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Sparks flew, a stalemate suddenly ensuing for just a moment… Until Leonel's Spear Force finally won out. Laced by his King's Might, it tore into the Runes of the ape, shredding them to pieces and eventually its entire body.
Leonel collapsed to a single knee, his chest heaving, but the environment around him had already begun to shift.
The world of black vanished, replaced by a resplendent white.
A young man stood in the distance beneath a small tree, his delicate hand reaching up to lightly touch a golden apple. He seemed too handsome for words, as though he shouldn't belong in this world at all…
…
'This kid really has terrible luck… How long has it been since one of the Spirituals Race has appeared in the Void Tower…?' Cornelius thought to himself.
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