Chapter 45: Art (2)

Leonel's expression gained a bit of dignity. They hadn't been here for long, yet so many inexplicable things were unfolding before him.

Gritting his teeth, Leonel made a decision.

"I know how we can get out of here."

Aina was just as intelligent as Leonel was. Though her thinking speed fell several steps behind him after he awakened his ability, when given enough time, her conclusions wouldn't be much different from his own. This was why when she heard this, her expression immediately changed.

"No. No. Absolutely not. We can think of another way. You have no idea what kind of side effects there might be. I won't let you."

Leonel smiled bitterly.

"I wish I knew more about this world, but unfortunately I don't. This is the only solution I can think of, and considering the current abilities of my mind… That's saying a lot."

Aina's eyes involuntarily reddened.

Leonel walked to Nicolas' desk and picked up one of his pen-shaped knives. He looked at it before a moment, hesitating. He didn't even notice when Aina's small hand crossed his field of vision and clamped down on the palm he held it in.

"It's too risky." Aina tried to steady the trembling in her voice. "We don't understand the diagrams to begin with, who knows what it will do to you? For all we know, Nicolas didn't even have his own will."

Leonel's jaw clenched. Sure enough, Aina had thought of the main danger as well.

Leonel was certain that this place was being held together by a large scale Force Art. The problem was that neither he nor Aina were experts in the matter. Walking around blindly could land them in an even worse situation than they were already in.

Though it might be possible for him to try and deduce the mysteries through Nicolas' countless notes, he had no confidence in doing so in a short time.

However, if he drew this etching onto his body, he should theoretically gain the ability Nicolas had, allowing him to comprehend these Force Arts quickly. With the processing power of his mind, as long as he had this starting point, deducing what he needed to know to get them out of here would be the simple part.

This sounded all well and good, but he might have a frightening price to pay for his ignorance. Joan worshiped Nicolas more than she did even the Catholic Church. Yet, they had very clear evidence here that his strength was handed to him by another. Who knew what the goals of this person was and what contingency plans they had left behind?

Leonel's heart had been unable to settle itself. Knowing that the destination ahead only had one path, yet it was fraught with danger, left him in a steadily darkening state. But somehow, Aina's hand, despite being so much smaller than his own, completely dispelled those thoughts.

He suddenly smiled warmly, his back straightening.

He lifted Aina's hand from his palm, his gaze flickering when he noticed that the sharp etching tool he had been holding onto had cut into her.

Almost somewhat on instinct, he ripped a piece of cloth from his linen shirt and carefully bandaged her hand.

"Of the two of us." He spoke lightly as he worked. "I am the best option to do this. With my ability, I'll be able to make the best use of it. Plus, I won't need to draw it as large as he had to to achieve a better result. It'll be fine."

Aina's hand trembled beneath Leonel's tender actions. Then, she could only watch blankly as he set her hand down and drew the first slice of flesh across the back of his left hand.

Leonel's memory was frightening after awakening his ability. Without a single pause, he drew the complex Force Art across his skin, the only sign of his pain being his tightly clenched jaw.

Force Arts could be made stronger with both depth and size. However, the Art Leonel drew was barely deeper than a usual paper cut and was a fraction of the size of Nicolas'. But, Leonel was confident that his own ability could amplify this Art's would-be potency, while also mitigating the risk he put himself in.

Even so, blood flowed continuously from Leonel's hand, dripping down and ricocheting off of the stone beneath their feet. The dull echoes rebounded across the walls of the underground sewage system, giving the atmosphere an eerie and damp feel.

Leonel's coordination stat was exceptionally high. It took him not more than a few minutes to etch the Force Art into his skin.

He had been expecting a grand showing when he finished, but the reality didn't have much fanfare. There was a faint wisp of light and a subtle comprehension clicked in Leonel's mind. What was once gibberish became as clear as a text of English to him.

'So that's how it is… Aina was right. Drawing Force Art is like an author writing down a story. But that also means that if you want to influence a Dimension, you must be applying pressure from a higher Dimension. This isn't just good news… It's excellent news!'

Leonel grasped on a very simple fundamental concept like it was his last beacon of hope.

The bad news was that whoever it was truly had placed some failsafes in place, failsafes that made Leonel tremble to his core. He didn't know exactly what they were, but his analytical mind could already see through the parts of this Force Art that contributed nothing to its main ability of passing down this power of understanding. It didn't take a genius to figure out that these parts were where the hidden danger lied…

The good news, however, was that this Force Art was an attempt of the Fourth Dimension to influence the Third. However, Leonel's body was a half-step above the Third Dimension and was on its way to evolving toward the Fourth due to Earth being in its Metamorphosis and him having lit his first Force Node.

As a result, the contingency plans this mysterious person left, had barely a portion of their effectiveness left.

This also meant that the knowledge Leonel was gaining was also severely hampered, but it was a worthy trade-off, especially considering Leonel's calculative abilities!

"LEONEL!"

Leonel snapped out of his thoughts, his head sharply turning toward Aina.

"Don't scare me like that!" She pounded the side of her fist into his chest, a move that would have likely sent him flying in the past.

Leonel grinned. "Aina… That's the first time you've called me by my name…"

Aina blinked for a moment then blushed profusely, turning her head away.

Leonel's expression turned more serious with Aina distracted. He could feel the subtle workings of energy chains trying to worm their way from his left hand into his body. He had no choice but to send a steady stream of Force to crush it time and time again. The drain on him was immense.

'We need to finish this mission as soon as possible. Only by going back to the present will this Force Art completely lose its effectiveness…'