Leonel awoke with a stretch. It felt so good that he held the pose for several moments, unwilling to leave that satisfying feeling behind.
He sat up with a smile. He was oddly happy at this moment. A burden that had been weighing on his heart felt as though it had been lifted. Plus, after finally getting some sleep, he felt refreshed and his spirit was even stronger than it had been just a few days ago.
'Even though he was an asshole, I have to admit that this Thunderous Clap person did indeed help me. If it wasn't for him, who knew how long I would have taken to come to such a realization.'
"You're awake?"
Leonel was so startled by the sudden voice that he practically jumped out of bed. He hadn't even noticed that the door had opened just now to reveal a very familiar and very annoying old man.
Old Hutch shook his head, his face filled with disdain.
"How could you possibly sleep like this on a battlefield. I could have slit your throat a hundred different ways."
Leonel's lip twitched. He had lived in a Mayan Tomb and faced thousands of Spaniards alone in that time. If there was anyone who knew how to sleep while being alert, it was him. But, was there a need for that right now?
"Since you're awake now, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
"Huh?" Leonel didn't know what the old man meant by this.
"You were so confident in getting first place, yet didn't you only get second? You practically threw my face out there. How can I show myself in public anymore?"
Hearing this, Leonel almost couldn't refrain from rolling his eyes. He may have been second, but did Chasing Wind really dare to claim first? As far as he was concerned, who was the superior among them all was obvious. But, he had simply been too tired. After teaching Thunderous Clap a lesson for the words he spoke, Leonel couldn't be bothered to enter the final round.
Old Hutch could obviously see through Leonel's expression, but he didn't seem to want to let up.
"I don't care what reasons you have. I was promised a first place finish, yet I didn't get it. So, I'll be taking something in exchange."
Leonel raised an eyebrow. What the hell did this old man want now?
"That light you used to defeat that brat Thunderous Clap and that other brat Roaring Black Lion. What was it?"
"Oh…"
Leonel understood what was going on now. This old man just wanted to ask him this question without losing face. So he made it seem like Leonel owed him an explanation. Leonel could only say that Old Hutch was indeed shameless enough.
In the end, Leonel shrugged.
"I was studying my Lineage Factor and happened upon another one. I felt a very strong connection to it so I coaxed it out. The result should probably be some element based Force Strengthening Deviation."
Leonel casually explained, but the words alone caused ripples to go off in Old Hutch's heart.
"Had I not been distracted, I would have comprehended Spear Force already." Leonel mumbled.
The truth was that he had been comprehending Spear Force, but this Lineage Factor intrigued him, mostly because it most definitely wasn't like the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor his father described. That likely meant there was a third Lineage Factor in his blood.
It could only be said that there simply wasn't enough time between Leonel's epiphany and the gathering, or else he would have been even more monstrous.
After setting himself on the path of logically deducing his own talent and Lineage Factors, a whole new door had been opened to him.
The bad news about this path was that he would progress slower than his Lineage Factor would otherwise allow him to. Theoretically, that is.
Relying on instinct and talent is usually much faster. This was just the way of life. However, Leonel had a certain advantage those who were lacking in talent did not have: his ability.
Leonel's analytical ability was far beyond most. As a result, his progress was actually faster than it would otherwise be by relying on talent and intuition.
This not only meant that Leonel could forcefully awaken his Lineage Factor's himself as long as he grasped a small inkling of them, it also meant that he was no longer restricted by the so-called 'awakening' phase of the Lineage Factor either.
According to Aina, the longer one maintained consciousness after awakening their Lineage Factor, the stronger it would be. However, for Leonel who was slowly comprehending his Lineage Factor himself, it didn't matter if he stayed awake for a single second or several days. Eventually, he would unveil all the hidden mysteries of his Lineage Factor. At most, if he didn't stay awake for long enough, it would be slightly more difficult than it would otherwise be.
That said... Hadn't Leonel just stayed awake for five days? That was even longer than he had when he awakened his Spear Domain Lineage Factor.
Like this, the 'bad' of his path was essentially expunged as long as his ability continued to evolve.
With this, the good was nearly endless. Aside from thanking Thunderous Clap, Leonel really had to thank Hutch as well. Or else who knows if he would have ever stumbled on this path at all.
"So that light really was a Force Strengthening Deviation?"
Old Hutch finally responded after a while. Hearing Leonel say that he could have comprehended Spear Force already by now made him want to give the brat a smack, but he refrained since he wanted to know more.
"Yes…" Leonel said slowly. "… I still know very little about it. All I've unveiled is that it can increase my speed by a large margin. I still have to study it more…"
There were many things Leonel left out.
For example, he was certain that if this Lineage Factor wasn't from his father, then it must be from his mother. In addition, he hadn't only unveiled that the Force Strengthening Deviation he had learned through his Lineage Factor could boost his speed, but he also knew that it had terrifying piercing power. Had he used this latter ability, he would have directly killed his opponents with ease even if he only used a rod.
But, Leonel still wasn't at the point of divulging his everything to Hutch even if he was grateful to the old man.
What Leonel and even Old Hutch didn't know was that what Leonel had grasped was Light Elemental Force. Old Hutch might have known what this was, but Leonel's explanation was simply too vague and purposely omitted many points.
If others knew that Leonel had comprehended such a thing, the shock would be immeasurable. Even among Force Strengthening Deviations, Light Elemental Force was among the strongest. Its versatility was near inexhaustible and its strength was undeniable.
However, even with this being said, the real reason it would arise shock was because it was simply too rare. Amongst several worlds, there might only be two or three people to grasp such a thing. And, families with Lineage Factors related to it were even rarer.
It was no wonder Leonel instinctually set aside comprehending Spear Force in favor of it. Compared to Spear Force, Light Elemental Force was beyond by an impossible degree.