Dimensional Descent
chapter-2295

'Crippled...'

It was something he probably wouldn't have thought of if not for these memories, but he was happy that he had. His Dream Force was the best ability he had; if he lost it, his combat effectiveness would take a huge plummet downward.

In reality, though, it wasn't that his Dream Force would become weaker. It would grow stronger, to a point. But after that point was reached, instead of growing stronger, it would instead grow faster. He would gain access to a larger pool of Dream Force, but the amount he could use in a single sitting, and the amount that could output in a single moment would remain the same.

It would be like restricting the funnel of his body, but this funnel would be toward the outside world. He wouldn't grow any smarter or sharper, and his Ability Index wouldn't increase either.

To make a complicated matter simple, he would be stuck in the Lower Impetus State for the rest of his life.

Interestingly enough, there wasn't a known reason for why this was, or more accurately, the memories of those he had absorbed had no real idea. It was hard to tell if this was because they were too ill-informed, or if it was the case that everyone was in the dark.

That said, there were a few theories, the best of which stood out to Leonel because it sounded like something El'Rion had warned him about. But interestingly enough, what El'Rion had said back then was related to Innate Nodes and not this matter, but Leonel's Dreamscape sparked with lightning and linked them.

Taking on the strength of so many people would weigh down his ability to progress into the future would hinder you far more than it would help you. You might benefit in the short term, but going into the future, you would find yourself weighed down by chains you didn't even know you were carrying.

Even though he had learned of this, Leonel felt fascinated by the Plane. The idea of being able to steal the memory of others and assimilate all of their thoughts was more intriguing than he ever thought it could be. Just a single soul absorption had been enough to heal the crack on his Ethereal Labella, and the remaining few had made him feel like he was already on the verge of breaking through again.

It was an intoxicating feeling, and he realized why those of the Incomplete Worlds took this path. They couldn't progress anymore due to the cap of their worlds anyway, so why not search for other methods of strengthening themselves? Why should they resign themselves to being weak?

Leonel frowned. It had a strong pull for himself as well, but he likewise didn't want to cripple his future. He was willing to do it for Aina, but quite frankly, when it came to his Dream Force, he was supremely confident in himself.

Just a small clue from Max had allowed him the ability to enter the Impetus State. If he had had this much affinity with Vital Star Force, he would have already taken that final step. Unfortunately, he didn't.

He shook his head and focused. First, he would go through the rest of the memories to see if there was anything useful. Once he was done, he could begin investigating just how that hidden expert was confusing him.

He finished the first quickly, and he learned a great many things.

One of the seven he had killed came from an Incomplete World that Leonel believed was better than 70% likely to be among the several dozen under the control of the Vast Bubble. In addition, this person was actually aware of their state as well.

This wasn't surprising to Leonel. After the Spear Domain Trial, he realized that the other Incomplete Worlds that had become part of this simulation had unearthed their plight as well and were preparing for the other shoe to drop.

That made Leonel wonder if the Domain Rings were dropped into this world for that specific purpose. Was it the design of the Dream Pavilion? Or, maybe... It was the intention of the Fawkes family?

He wasn't sure. Either way, this man came from a family that had an Ax Domain Ring, and he had an illusion type Ability Index. Leonel was less interested in the Domain Rings these days as he felt that forming a Weapon Sovereignty on your own was much better. The rings were just glorified storage rings that only housed one type of weapon in his eyes, even the spears weren't as attractive.

Of course, there was one more thing the rings were good for... and that was their Lineage Factors. If he came across an Ax Domain Ring, he would be certain to try and get it for Aina.

'The Rader family...'

He took mental note of this.

This was only a side project for Leonel though. When it came to these memories, what he focused most on was the unique insights these men had toward the Dream Plane and their use of Dream Force.

It turned out that these seven only really used the Dream Plane to hunt. It was too risky to go after veterans, so they waited around for newbies like Leonel before taking action. Using the more complex functions of the Dream Plane took more effort and could be more dangerous depending on the situation.

The Dream Plane was something that linked all beings across the cosmos whether they were aware of it or not, much like how everyone had a shadow, but not everyone could access the Shadow World.

In Incomplete Worlds, the Dream Plane would have various weaknesses. Usually, one could only enter the Dream Plane after forming a Life State Dream Force, or by being a Dream Sovereign. However, in an Incomplete World, you could do it from the Impetus State, and it also gave you great control and pull in your world.

You could use it to spy on the thoughts of others and read their intentions ahead of time, reading their thoughts and memories while they were unaware. Or...

You could obscure their vision and make their thoughts muddled and confused.