Chapter 271: Time Reduction (1/2)
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Streaks of black and silver launched across the Lab Setting.
Leonel usually kept the Lab Setting exceptionally tidy. His father's blueprints were always neatly arranged, the ores he used were always placed within the snowglobes after he was finished, and any scraps he had remaining had their own place as well.
However… the Lab Setting was currently an absolute mess.
Leonel's Craft table was overturned. His father's blueprints were scattered and by some miracle managed to remain undamaged. At the same time, the snowglobes which were once neatly arranged by category and type were sprawled all along the ground.
The two clashing entities continued without a care in the world as though not noticing Leonel's presence at all.
Leonel's brow twitched several times.
”HEY!”
Finally unable to take it, he roared out in full force, fusing his Spirit Pressure into his voice.
As expected, it completely disrupted the rhythm of the two fighting streaks of light, causing them to fall over.
After rebounding along the ground, the streak of silver shot toward Leonel, landing on his shoulder and bouncing up and down as though venting its frustration.
By that point, the identities of the two became obvious to Leonel. The silver streak was Leonel's Metal Spirit Familiar, Little Tolliver. As for the black streak… well…
The little mink landed on the ground, a dissatisfied expression on its little face as though it was unhappy with the sudden change of events.
It shook its little head, clearing its vision. When it saw Leonel, its eyes lit up with a hint of fondness.
Leonel frowned. ”What's going on? Is it possible to overshoot the entry limit of a Zone?”
Leonel took out the dictionary. He was extremely confused at this moment.
First, there was the fact the little mink exited the snowglobe without his permission. This was already questionable. But, beyond that, this Zone should have a limit of 12 individuals.
According to what Leonel knew, the universe didn't treat the life of a beast or a human any differently. Both were instances of life. As such, a beast should count as an entry, no?
Now that Leonel thought about it, shouldn't Little Tolly also count as an entry? Before, Leonel had ignored it because he assumed that since Tolly was his familiar, the both of them together counted as one entry. But, the appearance of the little mink made him rethink it.
Originally, he thought that maybe the suspended animation state the little mink had entered had allowed it to skirt the requirements of the Zone. But now, it had obviously, somehow, made its way out.
Was it so easy to circumvent the rules of a Zone?
Unfortunately, Leonel was thinking too simply. Spatial treasures capable of housing life were exceptionally rare to begin with. Someone like Leonel who had the Segmented Cube was so rare that one in a million didn't do it justice.
'Easy' was only a relative term to Leonel himself. For others, accomplishing the same feat would be impossible. That said… that didn't mean there weren't consequences.
[*Ping*]
[Replying to Seed, it is possible to overshoot the entry limit of a Zone]
Leonel blinked, his mind spinning. He froze a moment later, suddenly thinking of something and almost cursing the dictionary for being too blunt again.
”Is there a penalty for doing so?”
[*Ping*]
[Yes.]
”What penalty…?” Leonel's heart sank.
[*Ping*]
[The most frequent penalty is a time reduction.]
Leonel nearly cursed. This damn little mink, it was alway causing him problems.
The original time limit of 10 years was already pushing it. Though, now that Leonel had given up on perfectly completing the Zone, it was still hard to say whether whatever reduction penalty he faced would allow him to clear the main quest.