Leonel raised an eyebrow. This little woman was prepared, indeed. She told me a lot, and yet not too much. She didn't try to bog him down with details as though she was looking to confuse him or pull the wool over his eyes either.
She told him the most important things. The strength of the people of her Incomplete World, she told him what backing she might have and what trouble bringing her along might bring, and she also broke down her potential uses to him.
"Interesting, do you have a wielder of the Bow Domain Ring?" Leonel asked.
"Yes, we do."
"And why are they not the Seeded Participant of your group?"
"With all due respect, young sir, the ocular Lineage Factor granted by the Bow Domain Ring is inferior to our most powerful lineages. This doesn't mean that it is weak, but rather that ours are more comprehensive. Having the Bow Domain Ring wouldn't guarantee any sort of superiority, as the ocular aspects of the Lineage Factor are more supportive in nature."
The little woman felt her heart skip a beat after she said these words. She felt that she was both too arrogant in her statement, and that she had said too much. She subconsciously looked down at the ring on Leonel's finger, hoping she wouldn't see the Bow Domain Ring. She didn't want to offend this powerhouse.
But then she remembered that he had used a spear and breathed out a sigh of relief.
Leonel's lip curled. "Oh? And why do I get the feeling that your ocular heritage falls under much the same categorization, and yet I didn't feel the same sort of disdain for it as you have for the Bow Domain Ring?"
The little woman froze. She looked into Leonel's eyes warily and for some reason, he seemed much more large and looming than he ever had before. The height difference between them was already quite large. She was barely 5'3, making Leonel a foot and a half taller than she was. But now, she felt like she was facing a behemoth of a man.
"I..." she bit her lip before sighing. "The calming effect that my eye gives is more... expansive than I mentioned. It increases our comprehension and makes it possible to see the runes that make up the Forces we utilize. As such, more than calming, our eyes and the techniques we use it with give us greater utilization and comprehension of Forces than practically any other Force. It is more than just... supportive."
The pressure upon her vanished and she almost collapsed. Her heartbeat quickened and she seemed to finally realize how much she was sweating. She felt some relief, but it also seemed that Leonel wasn't finished yet.
"But it's more than that, no? Part of your disdain came from something deeper, a hatred, no? You have a grudge with this Bow Domain Ring wearer, don't you? And if you have a grudge with him, I have a feeling that you also didn't tell me all of the rules, right? Because you partly expect to be traveling with me?"
The little woman felt her vision go dark. She barely managed to sustain herself and stop her fall to the ground, but she felt that this person before her was simply too much. How had he known?
In truth, Leonel felt that there was more to the Domain Rings. It didn't make sense for them to connect the various Incomplete Worlds with one another and yet serve no other purpose. He had even thought about getting rid of his own ring, since he no longer needed it and could forge his own spears now.
But in the end, he had chosen to keep it... mostly to get to the bottom of this mystery.
It was in the best interest of the forces of the Vast Bubble to keep their experiments as subtle and secretive as possible. However, those that had lineages who had entered the true trial of the Domain Rings before all had an inkling of what was going on. Even that human that Leonel had caught in the beginning of the trial had known what was going on, although he refused to tell Leonel what it was.
So why would they risk that?
There were only two explanations, at least given the information he knew.
The first was that the rings had a more sinister intention and would be helpful in making sure the best talents were reined in properly.
The second was that the Domain Rings were disseminated by the Dream Pavilion and the Four Great Families at all, but were rather the work of another one of the Human Factions. If Leonel had to hazard a guess...
He would pick the Godlens.
As for why, it was just conjecture. He had no certainty. But what he did know was that if it was the Godlens, then the benefit might not be entirely sinister, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was good either.
"I... I..." the little woman was close to hyperventilating before her pink eyes glowed and she seemed to calm down. "... there are two extremely powerful factions in the Dimensional Eye Verse, one of them is the Ocular Chaos Clan. They are capable of swallowing Forces of all types, storing them in their eyes, and attacking with a wild burst of Chaos Force, or so they call it.
"In reality, Chaos Force is just Neutral Force. It's an amalgamation of all Forces. The difference is that it skews ever so slightly toward imbalance, causing it to rip across everything in their path.
"In the past, the Ocular Chaos Clan was very weak and their lifespans were very short. But-"
"But the Bow Domain Ring gave them the ability to expel the Chaos Force from their pupils and thus made them one of the most powerful families in your verse. And the cherry on top, I presume, was nearly wiping your family out, and this is your opportunity to retrieve the Bow Domain Ring and right the injustice, no? That would also likely mean that they're another quest related to the Domain Rings in specific, hm?"
The little woman trembled but eventually nodded.
"Having a Domain Ring will give you access to special zones. Remember the trial areas I mentioned earlier? There are many with strict requirements for who will be allowed to enter. Some require a certain amount of kills, some require a certain level of Force, and some..."
"Require the Domain Ring."
"Yes... There is a chance to strengthen your ring through these trials and by snatching the rings of others and fusing them. It's said that if you do this, you will have a chance to become a True Sovereign and gain the True Domain Lineage Factor, a Ninth Dimensional Lineage Factor!"
Leonel could see the excitement in the woman's eyes. Even the calming effect couldn't control her in the slightest. But he...
Was unmoved.
There was a catch. There was always a catch. Plus, becoming a True Sovereign? He had already done that on his own. Even so, he was interested in finding out what that catch was. It would decide whether he would be procuring a Battle Ax Domain Ring for his future wife or not. Which reminded him...
"Does your verse have anyone with a Vital Star Force Innate Node?"
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