Dimensional Descent
chapter-2495

[Bonus chappy thanks to Mr. Ham <3 (5/6)

"Clarence!"

The roar came from an old man with a beard that draped down to his waist. He didn't look far off from a wizened old wizard that had just stepped out of a fairytale in all but the furious expression.

Clarence looked back calmly, having already expected this sort of result.

The Dream Pavilion had a solid position amongst the human alliance despite their small numbers because it had by far the largest number of Ninth Dimensional existences. In fact, they had almost three dozen such experts, a number that could match up against almost the whole Human Alliance on their own.

Due to that, though, despite the fact Clarence was, indeed, technically their head, and he also definitely had the authority to do what he had just done, he was also in a far worse off position because he had done so.

Just now, Clarence activated what was probably the last hope of the Vast Dream Pavilion, but in return, he had essentially given up all the glory it had once held.

Their Dream Pavilion was currently ranked 123rd, or maybe, by now, it had already fallen to the bottom... but that previous rank had little to do with the current Pavilion.

In the past, they were ranked number one without a doubt. Their sheer number of Wise Star Orders alone was enough to suppress all the other Pavilions, even if they combined their might. In fact, the Dream Pavilion system was created by the humans to begin with. Or, more accurately, the Envoys of the God Beasts of Creation.

Unsurprisingly, back then, their merits placed them in first place. Over the years, due to various matters, and exchanging merits to help them endure through various situations, they fell to the 123rd position.

In the most recent iteration, they were forced to exchange a large amount of merits for the sake of the seal that had protected them from the demons. Of course, that had been done by a Fawkes, one of their former Pavilion Heads.

Unfortunately, they had been constantly targeted by the other Dream Pavilions. Many generations ago, a tier system for rewards was introduced. The result of the change was that all treasures couldn't just be exchanged for a great number of merits, you had to likewise have the corresponding rank to use these treasures as well.

Due to this, the huge mountain of merits the Vast Dream Pavilion was sitting upon was rendered entirely useless. It was such a simple scheme, and yet it was one that left them helpless to fight back again. They couldn't even exchange for another seal of that caliber even if they wanted to... Not that it would matter.

What were they going to seal now that six worlds had been fused into one? There was nowhere to hide.

In the end, this was the only option they had available to them.

The Challenge Sequence.

The Challenge Sequence was something that could only be activated by sacrificing all of your merits. Regardless of the number you had, it would be put up almost like a betting arena.

The Challenge Sequence would be triggered once one or many Pavilions decided to match the merit quantity. Essentially, if one wanted to accept the challenge, they had to put up as many merits as the 123rd spot would get you.

Once this number was matched, the various Pavilions that had thrown their bids in would all be brought to an external world and they would fight for the right to the merits.

Essentially, the higher the total of the merits, the higher tier of world would be opened up and the more chances there would be.

It was obvious why Clarence had done this.

In a year's time, all of their merits would be voided anyway as a new round of battle began for a new Race or Power to claim the Dream Pavilion. Meaning, in another year, it would all be wasted regardless.

The most important reason wasn't out of pettiness, though. Instead, it was to give himself and the others a chance.

With the merits of 123rd, they should be able to open at least the 3rd Tier of that place. That Tier was the absolute perfect spot for anyone who had hopes of reaching the Life State early.

This was his last gamble.

That world was known as the Dream Plane... the Real Dream Plane. Not an ethereal place in the Second Dimension your mind went to, but rather a real and tangible place created by the God Beasts of Creation long ago.

The God Beasts of Creation, for reasons unknown to the world, placed a great deal of effort toward strengthening Existence's comprehension of Dream Force. In the past, Dream Force had been even rarer than it is now, and it was only thanks to them and the Real Dream Plane that things changed.

If Clarence wanted a chance to enter the Life State and stop the last bastion of hope for the humans from crumbling at the altar of the schemes of those bastards, this was the last chance that he had.

He didn't believe they wouldn't take the bait.

Those Pavilions in the top 100 wouldn't care enough to take action, but there would definitely be Pavilions in the top 1000 pooling their resources together to match the Vast Pavilion. What better chance could they have than right now to rise up the rankings? This was their chance to make it big.

At the same time, this was Clarence's pride. Even as the other Ninth Dimensional experts clamored around him, his sneer was proud and his gaze didn't back down. All the while, his eyes never left that treasure just nine steps above him.

He would show them the pride of the Human Race. Even if he died, he would do so with a weapon in his hands and his bones broken, his lacerated flesh unable to help him stand any longer.

This was the last fuck you he had in him. If he could kill one or two of those sanctimonious bastards, he would die with a smile on his face.