Chapter 9: Mayan Temple (1) (1/2)

Leonel felt a slight dizziness that soon disappeared. He could vaguely feel that his quick recovery was anything but natural, however he didn't have much evidence to back this.

He found himself in a long corridor, dimly lit by flickering torches that hung from the walls. Large irregularly shaped stones formed the bricks that built the surroundings, giving the place the feel of an ancient tomb.

Just as Leonel was about to take a step forward, something completely unexpected happened.

[Subject detected. Leonel Morales, 17]

[Credit: First to enter Sub-Dimensional Zone. Accomplishment recorded]

Leonel stared blankly at the wrist watch on his arm.

[Earth is currently in a state of metamorphosis, ascending from the Third Dimension to the Fourth. Its present state is that of an In Between Dimension. To complete the evolution, certain requirements must be met. The Ascension Empire will rely on its citizens more than it ever has before, Godspeed]

To someone else, maybe these words would have had a calming effect. But to Leonel, his chest tightened as he tried to suppress the desire to simmer with rage.

Leonel didn't know what was going on, but what he did know was that whatever 'metamorphosis' was happening didn't account for this oh so 'helpful' aid on his wrist. This meant that the Ascension Empire knew that this change was coming and did nothing to prepare for it.

No. That wasn't accurate. They had prepared. It was just that they felt the lives of the billions who fell from the skies weren't worthy of protecting. The Empire was capable of creating technology that worked in this 'In Between Dimension', yet they hadn't made it widespread.

Eventually, Leonel's anger turned to laughter, his grip tightening around his metal rod to the point his knuckles turned an unhealthy shade of white.

[Subject: Leonel Morales]

[Ability detected: Sensory Type]

[Ability grade: D]

[Warning, margin of error for subject Leonel Morales is outside reasonable bounds. Only 5% of DNA recognizable. Abnormality recorded. It is advised that subject not trust his life to this data]

[Sub-Dimensional Zone detected: Mayan Tomb. Spanish invasion]

[Sub-Dimensional Zone grade: F]

[Clear requirements: Enter Chief Priest's Sacrificial Room. Save Chief Priest]

[Side Quest: Unable to detect. Scope of system too limited]

[Reward: Unable to detect. Scope of system too limited]

Leonel reined in his rage.

His initial instinct was to smash the watch on his wrist, however he knew this was foolish. His deductions told him that it wasn't normal for one who entered a Sub-Dimensional Zone to gain so much information without doing much of anything.

'If this is a process of a world evolving from the Third to Fourth Dimension, I have a hard time believing that this is the first time such a thing has ever happened. Something about this is too systematic, too planned. It doesn't have the erratic nature one would expect from organic evolution.'

Just how many instances of trial, error and failure were there in the evolution of a species? Too many to count. But something like being teleported into a new sub-dimension and having quests to clear sounded too phony. Leonel would die before believing this wasn't created by someone. And, he also had a feeling that said someone wouldn't expect its new batch of evolutionaries to have technology capable of doing such a thing.

So, Leonel concluded three things.

First, the things that appeared in his mind from his wrist watch were just guesses. They likely wouldn't be 100% accurate. But there was a good chance they would be mostly correct.

Second, if his watch was already struggling with what it deemed an 'F' grade Sub-Dimensional Zone, then it likely wouldn't be useful for very long. Maybe by the time it got to the 'D' grade, it would be completely unable to tell Leonel much of anything.

And third, since his watch was so limited, the likelihood of these changes being caused by the Ascension Empire were incredibly low. But… That didn't stop Leonel from keeping in mind the possibility that the Empire he had grown up in had saved the best 'systems' for those they deemed the most worthy. In such a case…

Leonel took a deep breath.

'Good, then I'll let you stay for now. Once you stop being useful, I won't hesitate to destroy you. Monitoring my movements and giving me nothing in return? I'm not so cheap.'

In the past, destroying this watch was as difficult as ascending to the top of the world. However, Leonel had a feeling that with these changes… The Ascension Empire's control was just that much weaker. Maybe they themselves knew this as well, or why else would they allow so many to die…? Maybe they wanted a more manageable population…

The sound of footsteps suddenly shook Leonel out of his thoughts. What was he doing? He was in the middle of a hostile environment with his life on the line. It was then Leonel remembered something even more horrid.

The Spanish had guns!

'Dammit!'

Without hesitation, Leonel sprinted forward, his mind oddly clear. Every time he passed by a torch, he unceremoniously put out its fire.

'First important point, temples are always built with many false turns and dead end pathways. Second important point, guns from this time period can only fire once as long as I don't give them time to reload. Third important point, my ability is a sensory type, I'll do better in the dark than they can.'

As though greeting Leonel's thoughts with open arms, the echoing footsteps and the sounds of armor clanging bounced off the walls and into Leonel's ears.

It was a magical feeling. Leonel could almost draw a perfect map of the trajectory the sounds followed, etching a path from his position to that of the Spanish with a line of three turns. It was as though he had gained a sonar ability, but it was much more complex than this because the sound wasn't coming from him at all.

Compared to the heavy armor the Spanish wore, Leonel's sneakers were almost completely silent.

'They just split apart, good. One group is headed toward me, there are three of them.'

Leonel's heart beat wildly. He hadn't felt this way since the very first time he stepped onto a football field. The way his sweaty hands slid across his silver rod, the butterflies the flew through his stomach, how his heart seemed to want to burst from his ribcage…

Leonel slammed his back against a wall at the edge of a corner, holding his rod tightly to his body with both hands.

The path he was on was the horizontal line of a 'T', while the Spaniards were walking toward him along the vertical line. He had managed to put out all the torches through the horizontal path, but had only made it halfway through the vertical portion before he was forced to run and hide here.

Luckily, he was correct about his sensory abilities. Making his way through the dark wasn't an issue at all.

Words Leonel couldn't understand entered his ears, causing him to inwardly curse. He knew how to speak three languages. English, French and Latin. He had a choice to learn Spanish, but because Aina chose Latin, he hadn't. Plus, he thought French was the language of love, so he had to learn it, right?