Chapter 24: Cleanse (1/2)

Leonel hadn't moved in weeks. He wasn't even consciously aware of the fact that Aina had left and come back several times already. Without any strong threats around him, and subconsciously putting his trust in her, he went all out.

Due to the strong winds and comfort that emitted from his tent, the Frenchmen hadn't dared to approach. By now, they were all convinced that he was an envoy of God.

Aina entered the tent once more. But this time, she frowned deeply seeing his current state.

Leonel's lips were a deep shade of blue, his body quaking with every passing second. The whirlwind of Force surging toward him was more than ten times greater than it had been on the first day. Whether that was due to the increase in his Spirit, or due to the fact he had a deeper understanding of the technique after actually reading it, it was impossible to tell.

Ghastly blue-green veins ran across Leonel's neck and forehead. Beads of sweat rolled down his body, mixing in with the foul odor it was giving off. If Leonel knew that Aina had continuously dealt with his body odor without a complaint for so many weeks, who knew how he'd feel.

If one peered into Leonel's brain stem, it would be possible to see a growing seed of concentrated Force. There was no simple way to complete this process. Leonel had to carve out his own flesh while simultaneously using Force to heal himself.

This was why this step was so dangerous. The brain stem was arguably the most important part of the brain. If it was ever damaged, death was basically guaranteed. Yet, Leonel had to actively do exactly that to carve out a Node for himself.

The only way this was possible was due to the special characteristic of [Dimensional Cleanse]. Not every Force technique would carve out Nodes in the same places, and most directly avoided such dangerous areas. It was precisely because the creator of this technique was so confident in his methods that he dared pen down this technique.

'Use your senses to perfectly memorize the structure of cells in your brain stem… reorganize… stimulate their recreation… destroy the original… repeat…'

It took hundreds of years of research before humans of Earth were able to use stem cells to reproduce brain cells. In fact, it was still in its infant stages even now. Yet, this technique was able to use Force to surpass anything Earth was capable of.

However, it was still up to Leonel in the end to repeat this process countless times. It was simply impossible for him to do this for every one of the millions of cells in his brain stem. That said, a normal Node formed of Fourth Grade Force would barely be visible to the naked eye and could have its size measured in cubic micrometers.

The issue Leonel faced was that his Node was not normal. And, though a normal Node would only take up the space of about 10 cells at most, the true difficultly came in properly restructuring everything so that your mind could continue to function properly.

That alone was already difficult… But Leonel had to replace and reorganize not just 10 cells… But 100!

On any other day, a mere paper cut could slice across far more than 100 human cells with ease. But to Leonel, that seemingly small number was the barrier between him and death.

He knew he could have stopped at 10, that he could have stopped at 20, even at 50… These numbers were already far more than a normal person could match. And, it should also be considered that [Dimensional Cleanse] wasn't a normal technique to begin with, another technique might have their user form a Node of five cells at most!

But, Leonel knew that if he stopped, he would be cheating himself. What had he wasted so much time Priming himself for if he wasn't going to tap into his full potential? If he stopped now, then he might as well have formed his first Node back when his Spirit was at 0.12.

Blood began to leak from Leonel's nose. It was such a deep crimson that it almost appeared black.

The calculations running through Leonel's mind were astronomical. Just how many other neurons did 100 brain stem cells connect to? How many spinal connections? How many smooth muscle connections? How many organs did they control?

Rerouting his whole body like this put immense pressure on his mind. He just wanted to sleep, to alleviate that pain racking his body, but he knew he couldn't.

'Persistence…'

His back straightened. He realized now that the reason he fought those seven A-grade Invalids wasn't because of some random excuse, it was because of something his father had ingrained in his body since he was young.

Persist.

Aina stood at the doorway, her teeth biting down hard on her soft lips.

'He's forming his first Node now? How is that possible? He should at the very least be on his fifth or sixth… Is his high coordination and reaction purely due to his ability then? What kind of ability is that?'

Aina obviously didn't have access to the same stats Leonel self-created. But, she had a natural ability to read people that came from years of training and experience. From her experience, it was simply impossible to have such high 'base stats' without first forging Nodes. She herself was already working on her seventh.

In fact, the base strength she displayed wasn't her full strength. Because she rarely used her Force, the stats Leonel had of her were actually wrong. After all, he can only measure what he can see, and he had too little knowledge of Force before.

The only point that stood now, however, was the fact Leonel's ability, whatever it was, was actually so great…

Suddenly, a roar escaped Leonel's lips, a shower of blood bursting from the pores of his body.

In the next moment, the sound of something that almost resembled a massive flame being lit swept through. Concentric circles of rippling force winds and dust billowed around him, shooting the tent he sat into the sky.

Leonel opened his eyes with a flash, their hazel burning with a deep blue light that flickered and disappeared a moment later.

He was a complete mess. His body was coated in blood from head to toe. In fact, the his general vicinity looked as though a concentrated rain of blood had fallen, splattering around gruesomely.

However, if one looked closely, one could see that this wasn't normal blood. It had an impure, brownish-black quality to it that released a terrible smell. At that moment, despite his looks, Leonel felt more alive than he ever had.

[Leonel Morales]

[Strength: 0.80; Speed: 0.75 (+0.1); Agility: 0.85 (+0.1); Coordination: 1.00; Stamina: 0.87 (+0.05); Reactions: 1.00; Spirit: 0.30]

That was it. He had crossed the limits the human body could theoretically endure!

His other stats hadn't improved, but this made sense. After all, it was a Node for his brain, not his body. They only had minor ticks up. But, Leonel knew that if he activated the Force in his first Node, his stats would increase by another margin.

'… Seems I've missed something important…' Leonel reprimanded himself.

”You stink.” Aina's soothing voice appeared above Leonel sitting form.

Leonel was speechless. But, looking down at himself and taking a whiff, even he could only cringe.

Sweeping out his senses, he quickly found the nearest water source.

”Come with me.” Leonel said.

Aina raised an eyebrow.

Leonel grinned. ”It's alright. I'm okay with you taking advantage of me.”

It was Aina's turn to be speechless. In the end she turned and blushed, not meeting Leonel's eyes.

At that moment, Leonel couldn't hide the confusion in his heart. He had thought that Aina's bashful personality was all just an act, not different from how Yuri pretended to be the kind, considerate friend for so many years. But what was this?

”Leaving you here doesn't sit well with me. Come on.” Leonel dashed away.

After seeing that he wasn't scrutinizing her anymore, Aina quickly followed. By the time she caught up, Leonel was already stripping by a riverside. Flustered, she could only find a tree to sit behind in the opposite direction.

Aina's militaristic outfit didn't have any defensive abilities. All it had were its convenient pockets that allowed her to store many things like miniature spatial devices, and the real reason she chose it: a self-cleaning function.