1436: A Game Changer

A Game Changer

Leonel and Aina had no idea what was going on nor did they know that their choice had stirred up such a commotion.  0

Leonel jumped from tree to tree, knocking on their wood as he tried to find exactly the kind he was looking for. 

There was something odd about trees that survived the density of Anarchic Force, they all looked the same. Leonel assumed they had undergone a convergent evolutionary path, following the same methods to combat their environment. That said, their interiors were very different. 

There were two ways to tell. The first was by observing the shape of their leaves and the second was Leonel's method. 

Leonel didn't know much about plants, herbs and the like. But, he could recognize his material needs when he found them. By knocking on the wood, he could make out practically all of its uses and whether it was suitable for certain Crafts or not. 

The foundational knowledge his father had left him with was more than enough to extrapolate to a whole range of situations. And, his wood carving lessons came with an added help benefit right now. 

Leonel was looking for a wood which was rigid enough to maintain its form while also being flexible enough to take his strength without snapping. 

Leonel came to a grinding halt, the branch beneath him swaying. 

He jumped, landing on the very same branch again and forcing it to bend. 

Leonel bent it so far that he slipped back down to the ground. But, the branch itself snapped back up, whipping back and forth with so much forward that a whistling sound lashed out through the wind. 

'Perfect.'

Leonel pressed his fore and middle finger together, a long strand of Spear Force manifesting and beginning to slowly tremble. 

Leonel's eyes narrowed as he watched this. He didn't normally use Spear Force like this. It lacked the flexibility of form Bow Force did. But, that was also exactly why he did this. He knew that there was something about Spear Force that he was missing and he wanted to understand it better. With it in the range of his Starry Spirit Domain like this, he could feel it much more clearly than he ever had before. 

The comprehension he had used to build this Level Two Spear Force felt so empty. 'Range' was the word he had used, but it felt so odd to think like that when the Spear could never match something like the bow in range. 

Still, Leonel felt that his comprehension was correct. It was just.. incomplete. There was something beyond range. 

Leonel's finger trembled, causing motes of Scarlet Star Force to fuse with his trembling Spear Force and turning its golden hues into a deathly golden crimson. 

He swiped across with a deft speed, slicing the top half of the tree off and then repeating it with the bottom. In the end, a thick log about three and a half meters tall stood, stripped of its bark to reveal a silvery sort of wood. 

'This wood should be powerful enough without Force Arts, I wouldn't have a Force Quill to draw them anyway. In that case…'

Leonel smiled, an excited gleam lighting in his eyes as his design for his bow began to manifest in the real world. 

A pale blue construct took form, completely transparent. 

However, that was when things began to change. 

A perfect replica of the wood Leonel was working with appeared in his mind. He reconstructed it down to a chemical level, understanding its in and outs as though it was the back of his own hand. 

Then, the pale blue construct began to change. It slowly became real in form, losing its pale blue color and becoming almost solid. 

'Let's try a… Sixth Dimensional cursed beast tendon.'

With a thought, a bowstring appeared on it. 

Leonel's finger grasped the string, pulling it back. With another thought, an Arrow also appeared, nocked perfectly. 

Leonel's back strained, his muscles tensed. 

'Interesting, I can only pull it out to about 70% even without additional Force Arts. Let's see how it reacts to Destruction Runes.'

Leonel tried out many things. When he finished his tests, he grinned. Testing things with his real body felt so different. 

The construct of his mind obviously wasn't tangible. The reason Leonel could 'feel' the bowstring and 'feel' strain was because he was using his Tier 4 Control to simulate it all. By fusing all of this information together, he could gain a perfect replica of how a Craft would act and react in the real world and control the reactions of his body so that it reacted as though his illusions were tangible.

In fact, with this new ability, Leonel could even form a sparring partner that could make him feel as though he was really being punched and harmed. 

Now that he thought about it, it was like he could take the simulation ability of the Void Tower with him everywhere! 

This would change Leonel's Crafting ability forever. He already felt he made a breakthrough after his quill self-destructed, but this was another massive leap forward. When he finally got Little Tolly back, his skill would be on a whole other level. 

Leonel snapped his fingers, causing the bowstring and arrow to disappear. 

With very deft control, he covered his bow construct in Ethereal Star Force. Once he was finished, he slid the construct into the center of the log of wood. 

Leonel hopped down from the log, placing his hand on its body. 

His hair fluttered. Closing his eyes, a smile curling his lips. He should be able to do this in one go. 

Leonel's eyes flashed open, an avalanche of Destruction Runes forming in irises. 

BANG!

The log exploded into a rain of ash. 

With a swift hand, Leonel snatched forward, snagging the surviving bow out of the air. 

His grin widened. It was perfect down to the smallest deviation, its silvery glow dancing in his hand. 

Leonel dispelled the Ethereal Star Force that had protected it, feeling the nice heft on his palm. 

This was a game changer. 

'Time to slaughter some goblins.'

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