Chapter 60: Stingy

[Bonus chapter for 600 powerstones. Next at 800 :)]

Leonel was still in a bit of a daze, but he didn't have much time to think about it. He could feel that his Star was still madly consuming Force.

What Leonel had failed to consider was that the formation of his One Star Cleansed body was directly proportional to the size of his Force Nodes. A normal Force Node for one building a Fourth Dimensional Constitution is a single cell up to maybe three. An above average person to a genius would use upward of ten. Of course, these numbers are for worlds in the process of evolving into the Fourth Dimension, youths birthed into higher Dimensional worlds obviously have greater standards.

Yet, even by the lofty standards of those use, Leonel's 100 cell Force Nodes were obscene. As a result, his One Star Cleansed body was likewise levels beyond others who reached this step.

By this point, Leonel's high spirit wasn't just a plus, it was a necessity. Only with such high Force control could he possibly allow such a grand Star Cleansed Body to be formed. Not only that, but his ability would likewise evolve even faster under the benefits.

'He's awakened his Lineage Factor already, and so thoroughly at that.' Montez blinked, no longer disturbing Leonel. 'At least this time, he won't waste so much of his time like he did previously. That's good.'

The truth was that the rewards for completing Zones were only one aspect. Another piece of the reward was the chance to practice in this space. Unfortunately, last time, Leonel was practically half dead, so Montez spent too much time healing him.

This time, though there was a smaller allocation, at the very least, he could benefit a bit.

A few hours later, Leonel finally opened his eyes. For a moment, it felt that he could destroy the earth with a single stomp.

Of course, he knew that his power wasn't so exaggerated, but it was a great feeling nonetheless.

[Leonel Morales]

[Strength: 1.00; Speed: 1.00 (+0.1 - nullified); Agility: 1.00 (+0.1 - nullified); Coordination: 1.40; Stamina: 1.20 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 1.40; Spirit: 1.00; Force: 0.40]

Now, Leonel had completely broken through the shackles of the Third Dimension, something that greatly shocked him. He had thought this wouldn't be possible until he completed the formation of his ninth Force Node. Was this the strength of a Star Cleansed Body?

The gap between 0.99 and 1.00 was a sturdy bottleneck. Before, it was only possible to cross in his weaker stats when he activated his Force. But now, even without it, he could do so. He would be even more powerful if he did activate his Force.

Unfortunately, he was bald again. Not only that, but that foul smell was several times worse than the first time around.

"You stink."

Leonel's lip twitched. What was with all the people in his life always insulting him like this. He knew, alright? But what could he do about it? It's not like it was his fault.

After thinking this far, Leonel made up his mind. He definitely wanted combat-wear like Aina's. Not only were those pockets way too useful, but apparently he'd be insulted left and right until he had that self-cleaning function.

Suddenly, Leonel looked up and grinned. "You'll let me use that pool to bathe again, right? Uncle Montez?"

In exchange for his cheekiness, Leonel received another palm to the forehead before Montez waved his hand in the air, as though trying to get rid of the stench that latched onto him.

"You have no idea how valuable that pool was. Usually, you could only enter as an exchange for a Tier 9 Black reward. I can be considered to have made a one time exception since you didn't get a fourth of the World Spirit like you should have."

Leonel's eyes widened with understanding, seemingly remembering that he had been cheated out of a great reward.

"Alright, this time you and the little girl definitely did something great. But, don't trust that device you used again. Any device that can make such a ridiculous mistake should be burned in the fires of hell along with its maker."

Leonel smiled bitterly and scratched his head, not responding. He didn't want to hear Montez rip Aina a new one, so he kept the fact she must have lied to himself.

"Alright, you cleared a Tier 7 Black Zone made for eight, so that warrants a minimum reward of eight Tier 7 Black rewards."

"Wait, it wasn't a Unique Zone?"

Montez frowned at this question, but after double checking his scroll, he looked like he had come to understand something. Leonel even thought he saw a faint wisp of worry on his face.

"No. According to this, it was very close to evolving into one, but didn't in the end. Whatever anomaly it was chose not to act in the end or couldn't act for whatever reason, so it remained a normal Zone."

"Anomaly…?"

Montez took a deep breath and sighed. "Toss this out from your mind. Just consider yourself lucky, this time."

Leonel wanted to ask more, but seemingly realizing that Montez wouldn't tell him anything, he could only silence himself.

'Anomaly… didn't act…? Was that related to the cold feeling I had after Joan died…?' Leonel's brows furrowed.

"… I assume you and your partner will split these rewards in half. Aside from this, you completed two side quests, one worth another Tier 7 Black reward and one worth a Tier 8 Black reward. The hidden quest this time is worth a Quasi Tier 1 Bronze reward.

"In addition, you are the first to perfectly clear a Tier 7 Black Zone and this is worth a Tier 9 reward."

"We don't need to split these too?" Leonel asked. "Then why did I only get one set of rewards for my side and hidden quests the first time…?"

Leonel felt a bit cheated.

"That's just the way things work." Montez shrugged. "It's like this to stop high Dimensional warriors from farming low level Zones too much. It's not a perfect solution, but it's not a bad one either."

"… Sounds to me like you're all a bit stingy… Can't they farm anyway if they just bring some people along with them…?"

Montez coughed and pretended not to hear Leonel.

"Anyway, make your choices. You have five Tier 7, one Tier 8, and one Tier 9 Black reward. In addition to one Quasi Tier 1 Bronze reward."