Dimensional Descent

Leonel was shocked. The very last group of people he could have ever expected to find here was the Brazinger Clan. Wasn't this the personal island of the Slayer Legion? Didn't they monitor it? Were they really so incompetent to allow others to sneak in here so easily?

Leonel had already had a hard time taking the Slayer Legion seriously, but it felt as though their every action really only made him look down on them more. 

After a while, he calmed himself. He realized that he had only reacted like this because of how hard the past few days had been. It seemed that even he needed someone to vent his frustration on. 

'Stay calm…' Leonel closed his eyes, steadying his breathing and his heart rate. 

He had already promised himself to remain calm in all things. It was still hard since he was just an 18 year old boy, but not everyone was made perfect in a day. In time, he'd temper his disposition. 

After Leonel steadied himself, he began thinking of what could possibly be happening here. 

He doubted that the Brazinger Clan had come in after them, there was a high probability they had come here first. In that case, could it be the Force Eruption was predicted by them? Or was it that they wanted to take advantage of the ore treasury that was this hive?

'There's another possibility as well…' Leonel furrowed his brows. '… According to Old Hutch, things aren't so simple as they seem on the surface. Could it be that these Project Hunt Islands were never the sole property of the Slayer Legion to begin with?'

When Leonel had this thought, he felt that his whole world had been turned upside down. 

Hutch seemed to talk like the decision to let the commoners of the Paradise Islands die was a mutual decision. Was the relationship between the rebels and The Empire really so simple? 

The more Leonel thought about it, the more confused he became.

'Forget it, thinking about it myself won't get me anywhere. I'll observe them first.'

…

The space on the other side of the cracks really did seem like an entirely different world. It felt as though one had to step inside a spatial crack to reach it, but the truth of the matter was that it was within the hive just like every place else. 

Though the space was dark much like the other network of tunnels, there was a dim halo of light around it. This light didn't come from the sun, but rather the countless plants littered all around!

That was right, this space within the hive looked no different than a garden. And, the halos of light being emitted from the plants were none other than the halos natural treasures had in the presence of a lower Dimensional world!

There didn't seem to be any large source of water anywhere within the cave, making their existence baffling. The only hints of liquid were the drippings that fell from the stalactites on the ceiling. 

'Mellow Dew Stalactites!'

Leonel trembled slightly. 

Mellow Dew Stalactites could form a single drop a day. Each one of these drops were the greatest nourishment for natural treasures, whether those natural treasures were plants like the ones in this cave space, or the current ores in Leonel's possession. 

The dew drops also had exceptionally high concentrations of Force. They could essentially liquefy Force, creating what could be classified as a Force Strengthening Deviation despite the fact it had no other characteristics aside from its high concentrations. 

Just to put these matters into perspective, just a single drop from these Stalactites was enough to form any one of Leonel's Stars. This was how exaggerated the matter was. 

Yet, the ceiling of this place was formed by at least 50 Mellow Dew Stalactites. It was no wonder this place didn't need any water to grow so many wonderful plants. A single drop of that dew would be enough to raise even an acre of Fourth Dimensional plants without issue. 

Unfortunately, Leonel didn't know what these plants were. He could tell they were valuable, but he wasn't a Force Pill Refiner, so how could he know anything about them? Luckily, he could rely on the dictionary if need be. He was certain these higher Dimensional plants were in its database.

"Wow, I didn't think we'd find something like this. How do you think these plants managed to grow here?"

There were two men, both of similar stature. They seemed to realize they had stumbled upon something valuable, but they didn't know how valuable it was. Their knowledge was limited. All they knew was that due to all these halos of light, these were definitely at least Fourth Dimensional herbs. 

"Let's mark this place down and let the Young Lord know about it. Right now, the priority is still to find a path toward the Force Crystal Mine. We're running out of time."

Leonel's gaze flashed. 'Young Lord? Could he be talking about that monocle guy?'

A hardly concealed rage flashed through Leonel's gaze. He had always been one who found it difficult to kill. It was only after countless battles that his heart began to slowly accept the kind of world he lived in now. However, if there was someone he wouldn't hesitate to kill, two someones, actually… it was the Junior Governor Duke and that monocle wearing young lord of the Brazinger Clan. 

'It seems they split up to cover more ground. Their aim is also the Force Crystal Mine… I can't guarantee that monocle wearing bastard won't be interested enough in this place to set everything aside to come here first. These two might not know the value of Mellow Dew Stalictite, but that doesn't mean he won't…'

A resolute glint took hold of Leonel's gaze. Though he was injured, he was still confident in taking on these two. Plus, if he could capture them, he might be able to dig out more information about what the Brazinger Clan was doing here and if they had any connection to the Slayer Legion…

'No, they shouldn't have a connection, or else we wouldn't have been sent here at this time.'

Even as Leonel was thinking this, he had already sprung into action. Taking advantage of the darkness, he stealthily had Little Tolly devour the thin, cracked wall and rolled into the world of grass and plants. 

Without hesitation, he quickly followed after the two men who had just left the wide space of greenery.