Dimensional Descent

Leonel sat at a corner of the cave, breathing heavily.

Compared to a few hours ago, he was in a far sorrier state. At least, he looked to be.

Though his clothes were fairly clean due to the abilities of his chain necklace, the rest of him was dead tired. His visage was pale, his fingers twitched every so often due to the exhaustion of his muscles, and his breathing was haggard.

Within the cave that branched from the tunnels of the hive, the other youths were present as well. Some of them sent worshiping gazes toward Leonel while others had more complicated looks.

Among them, King of Seas and Pisces were especially left feeling complex. They knew now how powerful Leonel was but it only left them feeling even more helpless.

After a long while, Leonel's breathing finally calmed. He really wanted to go to bed at this point. His sleep in recent weeks hadn't been great due to that Dark Elemental beast. However, he obviously couldn't do so now. This was no different than the calm before the storm.

They had dealt with their initial safety, but if they still cared about their longterm safety, they had to find a way to deal with the geyser. Though the cave they were in now seemed calm, this wasn't the case at all.

The wind in here was especially volatile. It wasn't enough to hurt any of them, but the fact there was strong wind in a cave located so deep underground was already enough to raise an eyebrow. In addition, Leonel really didn't know if there were any other dangers associated with the Force geyser, so sleeping in such a place was definitely not an option, at least not until he handled some things.

Taking a deep breath to finally calm his heart, Leonel took out the silver disk dictionary.

"How dangerous is this Force geyser?"

Due to the overall silent atmosphere, Leonel's sudden voice definitely drew a lot of attention, especially since many had been sparing him glances to begin with. At first they thought he was talking to himself, but then they suddenly remembered that weird voice that replied to him before when he asked for the spider king's weakness and couldn't help but listen intently.

[ *Ping* ]

[ The term 'Force geyser' is unrecognized. Judging by Seed's meaning, 'Force Eruption' is being referenced. ]

[ Force flows from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration. The human body is considered to be a semi-closed system. When approaching a Force Eruption, there is the potential of inducing a Force Node Implosion which can result in the crippling or death of the person in question. ]

Hearing this response, the youths immediately paled. Even Leonel grew several levels more serious. Did this mean that their best option was to ride out this Force Eruption until it came to an end?

"How long do Force Eruptions last?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, it depends on the cause. ]

"What can cause Force Eruptions?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Force Eruptions can be caused by the evolution of Force Mines, the death of powerful beasts, the evolution of worlds, the eruption of Sub-Dimensional Zones… ]

The dictionary went on to list what seemed like an endless number of cases. In the end, Leonel had no choice but to cut it off.

"How long will this one last?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Fluctuations detected. Force Eruption 93% similar to evolution of Fourth Dimensional Force Crystal Mine. 37% similar to birth of Crystal Spirit. ]

[ Calculating… ]

[ 128:12:37:05 ]

At first, Leonel didn't understand what the numbers meant, but when it clicked for him, his jaw couldn't help but clench.

"128 days, 12 hours, 37 minutes and 5 seconds…"

When the other youths figured it out themselves, they paled even worse than they had before. How could they last for so long? That was practically half a year!

Where could they get the food and water they needed? Even if they could somehow find a way to solve this problem, would they really be safe all this time?

The worst part was that this was just the time it would take for the Force geyser to stop. Who knew how long the Force in this area would stay at a high concentration? As long as there was a vast difference between the Force in this region and others, it would still be a hot bed for powerful creatures.

As if all of this wasn't enough, even after the Force reached an equilibrium, would that guarantee that the beasts who came would leave? What if they took this as their permanent residence? And, even if they didn't, how long would it take them to leave?

If all of these things were taken into consideration, the time they needed to spend here could easily cross a year, maybe even two or three.

The more they thought, the more they despaired. Would this really be the place they died?

Leonel's eyes narrowed. He had absolutely no intention of dying here nor did he have any intention of staying in this place for so long.

"Is there any way to stop a Force Eruption ahead of time?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ The Force Eruption of a Force Crystal Mine is a natural process used to increase the Force concentration of an evolving world… ]

Hearing to this point, Leonel couldn't help but despairing a bit as well. If this was a natural, necessary process. Didn't that mean they had no choice but to wait? However, the next part sparked his light of hope once again.

[ … the process involves forming Natural Force Arts. To speed up the action of drawing these Natural Force Arts, it is necessary to infuse the Force Crystal Mine Core with high level Force Strengthening Deviations. ]

Grasping onto this faint hope, Leonel's heart grew agitated.

"What are Natural Force Arts and how are they related to the Force Crystal Mine?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, Natural Force Arts are the creation of natural phenomena and often power naturally occurring evolutions. Complex runes are currently being slowly drawn on the Force Crystal Mine Core, the Force Eruption is the result of this process. ]

After knowing this, Leonel only had one question left…

"What can I do to get close to a Force Eruption without dying?"