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C501 - Stop Laughing And...

Leonel sighed a breath of relief. Once again, the speed of Aina's recovery shot up again.

Sitting in the pool, Leonel allowed her to rest against his chest. Soon, her breathing stopped hitching and became calm and her head fell back against Leonel, the light sound of snoring coming from her parted lips.

Leonel smiled.

He quite liked this feeling. The way he could envelop her small frame in his arms and protect her, it made him feel at peace.

Leonel chuckled lightly. As expected of Aina, rather than wearing delicate female underwear, from what Leonel could tell, she actually wore male boxers. Her reasoning was probably that it was more comfortable, at least for battle.

Of course, Leonel was too much of a pansy to actually look with his eyes. He could just tell by how the fabric felt on his thighs.

Had Mordred been there, she would have most definitely rolled her eyes.

Leonel cast a silencing array over Aina's ears and brought out the dictionary once again, his expression becoming more serious.

"What is a One Star Mono-Layer Curse and how does it compare to a Four Star Tetra-Layer Curse?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ A One Star Mono-Layer Curse is a curse with just a single layer of complexity. It is not necessarily more or less complex than a Four Star Tetra-Layer Curse, though it is much easier to cure ]

Leonel frowned. What did it mean by not necessarily more or less complex? What was the point of the divisions, then?

[ A One Star Mono-Layer Curse can only take root in a Third Dimensional existence. However, a Four Star Tetra-Layer Curse is effective even against a Sixth Dimensional existence ]

Leonel's frown deepened. Aina was dealing with a curse that powerful?

"What did you mean by Aina's curse was almost as effective as a Four Star Tetra-Layer Curse?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ A curse's effectiveness is based on two factors: its complexity and its level of integration. Aina has a curse with a simple complexity, but an elite growth rate. This allows it to display more strength over time ]

The more the dictionary spoke, the more Leonel felt it wasn't giving him the answers he wanted. It took a while, but Leonel finally understood what he needed to know.

The growth rate of a curse referred to its Integration Potential. Over time, some curses weakened, but other could grow stronger. Aina's curse, the Nine Segmented Blood Leach Curse, was a simple curse, but its growth rate was frightening.

Though weak against adults, if implanted into an infant, the Curse would be able to root itself deeply. This would result in a Curse no weaker than a Four Star Tetra-Layer curse in effect as the infant grew into adulthood. It could even grow beyond this.

Technically, if this was a curse with a poor growth rate, just breaking into the Fourth Dimension would have been enough to dispel it. But now, if Aina wanted to break this curse without outside assistance, it would take her breaking into the Sixth Dimension.

But, by then, the curse would have grown even more powerful. Who knows if even breaking into the Seventh Dimension would be helpful by that point?

And, from Leonel's understanding, the greatest known powers in the Dimensional Verse were only of the Seventh Dimension, including the Morales family. So, if the Curse became any more powerful, it would become next to impossible for Aina to ever think of dispelling it on her own.

"Can Cleansing Water dispel this Curse?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Yes ]

"What level?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Extended treatment with Fifth Dimensional Cleansing Waters or one drop of Sixth Dimensional Cleansing Waters ]

"Will the Segmented Cube produce Fifth and Sixth Dimensional Cleansing Waters?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Yes. Upon reaching the Third and Fourth Phases respectively ]

Leonel sighed a breath of relief hearing these words. This was perfect, that just meant he had to find a way to upgrade the Segmented Cube like he had helped it reach the Second Phase.

However, after Leonel had this thought, he froze. In order to upgrade the Segmented Cube into the Second Phase, it had required letting it absorb Force from an impossibly rare Force Eruption… If he wanted to upgrade it again, wouldn't he have to find a Fifth Dimensional Force Eruption? And then a Sixth Dimensional one?

Leonel shuddered. Had he not awakened his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor, that Force Eruption would have killed him. He had no confidence in surviving a Fifth Dimensional Force Eruption, let alone a Sixth Dimensional one.

And this didn't even mention the problem of finding such Force Eruptions to begin with. Not only would he have to travel to such worlds, but he would have to find such a rare occurrence as well.

Just when Leonel thought this was enough to leave him speechless, he suddenly thought of another problem, leaving his heart in a panic.

For now, Aina's curse was only approaching a Four Star Tetra-Layer Curse in effect, but it wasn't quite one yet. As such, Fifth Dimensional Cleansing Waters could still work… But, for how much longer?

"How much longer will Fifth Dimensional Cleansing Waters be effective as a cure?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed… ]

[ 639:19:39:08 ]

Leonel sucked in a cold breath. 639 days… That was less than two years.

Leonel's jaw clenched, gripping his fists tightly. The dictionary said long term treatment was also necessary if he chose to use Fifth Dimensional Cleansing Waters, he would have even less time than that.

'Fine. Let's set a limit of 500 days. Within 500 days, I need to enter the Fifth Dimension and be in position to look for a source to upgrade the Segmented Cube.'

Leonel was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice that Aina had already awoken. Though she noticed she was half naked and in Leonel's arms, she didn't have the reaction one would have thought.

Even Leonel would have expected her to jump up and rush away. But, noticing the [Light Curtain] across her front, Aina couldn't help but smile sweetly.

By now, her scars had already faded back to their knife wound-like appearance. In fact, she seemed far stronger than she had been in the past, likely due to the blood she had ingested. And now… she just felt… warm.

She couldn't help but adjust herself slightly, her back pressing more squarely onto Leonel.

"Hm?" Leonel blinked. "Oh…"

Leonel moved to get up. Since Aina was awake, there was no longer a danger of her drowning, so he didn't have to stay here.

"Sorry, since you're alright I'll…"

When Leonel was about to leave, he suddenly felt Aina's slender fingers grab his forearm, clamping down tight.

Aina hadn't seen Leonel in months. She didn't even need to look back to know who it was. In her time of need, he was there once again.

Leonel's eyes widened slightly, but at least he wasn't dense enough to insist. He obediently sat back down and let Aina rest on his lap.

'Oh right…' Leonel snapped a finger, causing the silencing Arts around Aina's ears to vanish.

The two sat in silence for a long while, Aina not relinquishing her grip on Leonel's forearm in the slightest. In fact, she somehow got a hold of his second arm and wrapped them around herself as though a spoiled child.

Leonel couldn't help but smile, his heart feeling exceptionally light.

"… You stink."

Aina's soft voice stunned Leonel for a while before he broke out into laughter. Why did it seem like this was this girl's favorite thing to say to him?

She wasn't exactly wrong, though. He hadn't had a bath in months.

"… I stink too…"

Leonel sputtered with laughter. Even without laying eyes on it, he could see Aina's frowning pout.

"… Stop laughing and wash my back."

This time, Leonel choked.

To be continued