Leonel was overwhelmed. How could he possibly sift through so many treasures?
"What do you suggest, Uncle Montez?"
Montez smiled. "First, I don't suggest you trade in your five Tier 4 Black rewards for a Tier 5 one. In your current state, you can't afford to be picky. If you have to rely on 'treasures' you pick up in the Zones you enter, you won't last very long.
"In addition, as I said before, the things you picked up from there will disappear once you leave this place. In this present state, not only are Zones dangerous, but your world itself is dangerous too. You might have run into the Invalids already…"
Leonel opened his mouth to answer but only nodded in the end. He had almost forgotten about the weird changes in his white pupil'd peers… So they were called Invalids. He didn't have to think much to understand why that was.
Unfortunately, he was running out of time, so he knew he couldn't ask Montez about it. It also seemed that Montez was purposely not answering as well.
"Do you have the ability to narrow these down by my needs?" Leonel asked.
After seeing Montez nod, he immediately organized his thoughts.
"How would you categorize these treasures?"
"Hm. There are defensive treasures that range from armors to one time use tokens. There are offensive treasures that range from weapons to, again, one time use tokens. There are techniques that touch on anything from improving your strength to your defense to your offense.
"You can trade for Sub-Dimension Zone analyzing treasures to get a more accurate read on the Zones you enter. These are categorized as detection treasures, the best ones can be used outside of Zones as well.
"You can also trade for information. It can be information about where Zones will appear in your world, or even information about other worlds. It's also possible to buy a ticket to another world, though it would cost you your Tier 9 Black reward."
Leonel's eyes flashed with a sharp light.
"Can you show me your Tier 9 Black techniques? Preferably the ones that teach how to use the same energy as the Priest I just fought."
"Hohoho." Montez smiled a smile that wasn't a smile, but his eyes seemed to give away that he was extremely satisfied with Leonel's choice.
The counter magically shrunk down, leaving a pile of hundreds of booklets. It was clear at a glance that though a Tier 9 Black technique was valuable to Leonel now, it definitely didn't mean much to Montez.
Though the options were narrowed down, Leonel still felt lost. If only his sensory type abilities were able to seek out what he needed.
At this thought, Leonel raised an internal eyebrow. What if it could? He didn't know anything about his abilities currently and he was actually tempted to ask for a treasure that could tell him about it. But, he subconsciously felt that this wasn't the best idea.
One thing that was clear to him about these treasures is that none of them were perfect. He most certainly couldn't expect a Black grade treasure to be so. If he found such a 'helpful' treasure, it might lead him down the wrong path. And, even if it was correct, it might limit him by boxing in his thinking.
Leonel closed his eyes, trying to tap into the same sixth sense he used to battle the Priest. Once he locked onto that feeling once more, his eyes flashed opened. In that moment, the seemingly ordinary piles of books became a violent storm of raging colors.
No. Once again, they weren't truly colors. Leonel's mind only interpreted them as such, almost like an odd form of synesthesia.
Leonel realized now that compared to these books, the Priest had been a joke. But this made sense, he was only the 'Boss' of a Tier 4 Black Zone, while these were Tier 9 Black techniques.
However, he soon found differences between them. Among even these high tier techniques, there were separations. Leonel immediately discarded the worst of them and focused on the five that shone so brightly that even while being buried beneath the pile, they exposed themselves.
He stepped forward and pushed all the other away, leaving five.
'Shit… I can't read what —'
Just as Leonel was thinking this, the words on the five thin booklets rearranged themselves, becoming legible English.
"There's still a small bit of fairness in the world." Montez laughed, hiding his shock. "Anything you take out of this world will remain translated for you."
Leonel nodded, thankful.
"I pick this one."
At this point, even Montez was stunned to the point of no longer being able to hide his reactions. Leonel hadn't deliberated for more than a split second before he put his hand over a booklet, taking it from the counter.
Leonel shrugged. "I felt this one could help improve my ability. I had already chosen before I knew its name."
"[Dimensional Cleanse]… It can indeed improve one's ability. But how did you know that?"
"I dunno. Just felt it."
Montez's eyes narrowed. He could tell that Leonel wasn't lying. But, even if he was, Montez wouldn't press him regardless.
"The others are powerful as well, so why this one in particular?"
"They gave me auxiliary abilities I didn't need. Before I think of gaining extra stuff, I want to focus on my own. I feel that it's very powerful."
Montez couldn't refute. He had never seen someone with a Pseudo Fourth Dimensional Constitution do what Leonel just did.
"For my two Tier 5 Black rewards, can you show me some flexible armors?"
Leonel wanted to look through [Dimensional Cleanse] now, but he refrained. He felt that Montez had reminded him about the time for a reason. He likely couldn't stay here forever.
Montez clapped his hands once more, causing the counter to shift. This time, there were even more items to display. Not only were there more, but they also took up a larger space individually than small booklets did. In addition, it was a lower tier of treasure, so it made sense that there were so many.
Leonel narrowed down the options in the same fashion. He eventually settled on a skin-tight armor not much different from his compression shirt. It was a sleek black and the only difference was the fact it was dotted with small hexagons that flashed an imperceptible black light every so often.
For his second Tier 5 treasure, Leonel chose a pair of shoes that had the ability to camouflage themselves into his chosen design. Not only did it have a small bit of defense, but it could increase his speed and agility by 0.1 each.
When Leonel got to his Tier 4 treasures, he realized why Montez advised him not to trade them in. He could think of so many things he needed that he almost felt depressed that there were just five choices left.
First, he chose a container. It was shaped like box forged of steel, but it had thick leather straps. Its height was about a meter and its width about half of one. From the outside, it seemed to have less carrying capacity than the wooden box Leonel used in the Mayan Temple. But one would be shocked to find that it could house 200 long-form darts compared to 50 from the Mayan container. In addition, as long as Leonel hovered his hand over it, a dart would immediately enter his palm.
The best part about this treasure was that it could produce darts itself. It came pre-made with 200, but as long as Leonel fed it materials, it could make more. Leonel was extremely happy finding such a perfect treasure for him.
The second Tier 4 Black treasure he took was another technique. This one was called [Call of the Wind]. It was a throwing technique that taught the use of wind negating abilities to increase the speed of one's spears or darts.
The third Leonel chose was a sturdier atlatl. The combination of these higher tech darts and this technique would completely shatter the atlatls the Mayans built. Plus, everything he got from the temple would disappear once he left this place anyway.
The fourth Leonel chose was a crude sensor. It could sense the opening of a Zone within ten miles and also point out the direction like a compass. In addition, with a large margin of error, it could estimate the grade of the Zone as well.
The fifth and final treasure Leonel chose wasn't for himself. It was a bracelet that acted as a one time defensive token. Though it was a Tier 4 Black treasure, since it was only one time use, it was more powerful than other treasures of its tier.
Of course, he had traded for it for the sake of Aina.
He may have not known the details of Aina's likes and dislikes, but he knew of her disposition. If he tried to give her too much, Leonel was certain she would reject. But this small token… Maybe she just might say yes.
"Uh… Uncle Montez…"
"Hm? What're you loitering around for. That was your final pick."
"… Do you maybe have a place I can wash myself in? I can't see my… I can't see her like this, it'll be a disaster."
Montez looked blankly at Leonel before almost falling over in laughter.
"Sure, sure, sure. Whatever. Since you were so quick, you have fifteen minutes left."
Montez waved his hand and the counter disappeared, replaced by a small pond of water that fogged with a dense whiteness.
Leonel didn't hesitate. They were all men here anyway. He stripped off all his worn armor and dropped them to the ground, jumping in to scrub himself furiously. He was so obsessed with getting as clean as possible that he completely missed Montez's sharpening gaze at the sight of the faint scar on his right hip. And since he missed that… He also missed the surge of fury.
As for Leonel, it wasn't really his fault that he missed this. The pond was much too comfortable. He forgot the joy of cleaning oneself. But, even more curious, this water didn't seem to be normal by any stretch of the imagination. Leonel could even faintly feel his senses sharpening.
By the end of ten minutes, his Reactions had increased to 0.95 before stopping. In addition, his coordination followed suit, stopping at 0.90.
With just five minutes left, Leonel hopped out. He slid on his new Tier 5 Black flexible armor first, allowing it to perfectly adjust to his size and shape. He felt his stamina tick up by 0.05. Then, he slipped on his raggedy pair of sweatpants that he had luckily cleaned first this time. Though they had been soggy, Montez was nice enough to wave a hand and dry them clean.
There were a lot of holes in them, but at least they covered his most important parts.
Last came his pair of Tier 5 Black shoes which he disguised as sneakers. He then slid on the steel container and hooked his white boned atlatl to his waist.
Gripping the rest of his stuff, he bowed his head in thanks to Montez.
"Thank you, Uncle Montez!"
Montez smiled and waved, sending Leonel out.
**
On the top of the Mayan temple, the situation was completely different to how Leonel had left it. Not only had his friends woken up, but judging by their appearances and how there were fewer of them than before, they had also cleared their first Zone as well…
Montez had downplayed how long he took to recover Leonel back to his full state. If Leonel's constitution had been better, he could have healed him in an instant. But due to Leonel's weak body, Montez had to take his time.
Like this, though Leonel was the first to clear a Zone, he was actually last in place to return. Maybe only the first few people who awoke knew that he had entered first…
"What the hell are you trying to do, Conrad?"
James stood towering, his injuries from that night clearly healed. But it seemed that he was still in quite a bad state, a reality that would have left Leonel surprised. Why had his Guardian healed him but not James?
However, a moment later Leonel would realize that it was because James had been hurt outside of the Zone!
Conrad sneered. "This isn't the normal world order anymore, James. Just because you were bigger and stronger than me before, doesn't mean you are now. I won't need you to be drunk to kill you this time."
"You have a lot of nerve puffing your chest out like that after sneak attacking me in my sleep. Sure, it's a new world order. But you're still the same pussy."
Conrad's gaze turned crimson, the space around him heating furiously.
"You wanna say that again? Even if it's a new world order, your family still exists on the outside. And don't think I've forgotten what you failed to do during the Championship Game."
James' own gaze turned dangerous. "If you died here, who of the Siegfried family would even know or care? If you think I'm just going to let you use the girls of my Royal Blue Academy just to vent your lust, you have another thing coming."
Several girls sat cowering to James' back, their eyes filled with fear. They realized that in this world, they didn't have the same protections they once did… Among them, Yuri and Savahn were present, but there was no sign of Aina.
As though on cue, a portal slowly formed. A delicate beauty with a battle axe twice the size of her body appeared. Her presence was so captivating that it was almost too easy to ignore the weapon on her back and the odd out of place black bag in her hand.
Aina's steps paused, her gaze sweeping over the surroundings only to stop on Yuri and Savahn. Looking at the tears that streaked their faces and their disheveled clothing, her gaze once more shifted to Conrad.
At that moment, another portal appeared.
Conrad's expression turned ugly when he saw Leonel's smiling face. He was shocked to see how many items Leonel had brought with him. How had he gotten so much?
Aina, too, saw Leonel. In fact, her gaze didn't leave Leonel's as she walked to Conrad's back.
Her arm shot forward, piercing through to Conrad's chest. The image of a petite girl with an arm covered in blood was an image Leonel would never forget.
He had been smiling brightly just a moment ago, his eyes finally landing on the beauty he had been thinking of for so long… Only for it to freeze in his shock.
Conrad didn't get to speak another word before he slumped to the ground, sliding off of Aina's forearm as though she deliberately slowed him down so that Leonel would capture every moment.
Leonel felt that his world had come to a complete grinding halt.
---
Alright guys, this will be the last mass upload for a while. DD's regular upload schedule will be 1 chapter or 2k words a day. However, there are ways to get more chapters:
For every 10 *unique* reviews (ie by a different person and not spammed from the same account), I will add a bonus chapter. We are at 2 reviews right now, 1 review exluding myself. So, when we get to 11 total, I will upload another chapter. This deal is good for up to 101 total reviews :) we probably won't get there any time soon, though.
I also plan to implement a powerstone bonus chapter system, but I'll let you guys know about that at a later date.
Anyhoo, hope you've enjoyed to this point! I'm excited to write more :)