Leonel began to very seriously go through all the information Valiant Heart had on Dream Force. To his surprise, there was quite some amount of it. But, Leonel quickly realized how.
Among all the abilities one could run into in battle, and as devastating as many could be, maybe the most feared one were all related to Dream Force.
Matters related to consciousness were among the most enigmatic in all of existence. To face someone who could seemingly control it was daunting. As such, the amount of information here had less to do with Valiant Heart's prowess, and was more reflective of the Dimensional Verse's focus as a whole.
This much made sense, though. The Ability Index Leonel attached to himself was the Sensory Dream Force type. However, there were still many others. For these others, all of them ended with the very same red underlined 'Manifestation' level, but the first four and something three or two levels greatly differed.
For example, there was an Illusion Dream Force type. These individuals were excellent at using tricks of the mind and thrusting others into their fabricated worlds.
It was safe to say that no one wanted to run into such a person in battle.
'Ah…'
Even among the very first things Leonel learned, he was floored.
'Dream Force is a type of Soul Force. Yet, all this time I've been treating it just like any other Force…'
Leonel almost felt like kicking himself. It was such a simple shift in ideology but it was important enough to flip the table of his understanding.
What was the difference between Force and Soul Force? Well, the simplest difference was in tangibility.
Force could apply change into one's surroundings at a whim. For example, Leonel could directly strength his body with his Force. Likewise, his Force Strengthening Deviations could be directly applied to the environment as well.
When Leonel used his Light Elemental Force, his legs were directly enveloped by it. When he used his Scarlet Star Force, his organs were charred by it. When Leonel activated his Metal Body, his body was directly strengthened by it.
These were all abilities that encompassed Force.
What about Soul Force, though?
If Leonel wanted to make use of Soul Force, usually he needed a medium. This medium usually came in the form of a Force Art, just like the mages of Camelot.
In Camelot, one needed to use their Spirit Pressure to execute their Mage Arts. This so-called 'Spirit Pressure' was exactly the same Soul Force being mentioned of here.
'It didn't become possible for me to use Mage abilities with any sort of fluidity in the absence of Mage Arts until…'
Leonel's body froze. He almost couldn't stop himself from trembling all over.
The current Leonel could bend the Elements to his will with nothing more than a single thought. His body itself had become a perfect medium for this. However, the only reason it was possible was because he had formed his Mage Core!
In the past, Leonel could still forcefully manipulate the Elements without his Mage Core, but the strength he could display then wasn't even a tenth of what he could now. And even then, his magic was still the most powerful only when he used Mage Arts in conjunction with his Mage Core.
It all suddenly hit Leonel like a ton of bricks.
All this time, he had been applying his Dream Force just like any other Force. But, what he had been doing was the equivalent of manipulating the Elements without Mage Arts and without a Mage Core.
Leonel really didn't know what to say to his own stupidity.
Not only was he handicapping his Dream Force, but he was handicapping his magic as well!
Right now, Leonel had three Stars rotating within his Ethereal Glabella's world. These three Stars continuously purified normal Force for him. However, what it converted it into wasn't Dream Force… but rather normal Soul Force.
Leonel had been subconsciously splitting this Soul Force into two streams. One remained intact for the sake of casting his spells, manipulating his Mage Core and bending the Elements to his will.
The second portion was 'sent' to his Dream World and was then catalyzed into Dream Force by himself. All this time, he had been treating Dream Force like just another Element he could conjure up with his Soul Force.
'Idiot… I can't let dad know about this or else I'll never hear the end of it…'
Leonel felt like he was doing a math proof for 1+1=2, but the first line he started with was already 1+1=2. He went through all those laboursome steps just to prove nothing. It was mildly infuriating.
Without hesitation, Leonel suddenly took a massive step. He flooded all of his Dream Force toward his three Stars.
BANG!
Leonel's mind went blank. It felt as though an explosion had gone off in his mind, ripping his consciousness to shreds. However, oddly enough, he felt not a single ounce of pain.
It wouldn't be until long later that Leonel realized the true strength of the Three Star Constitution. However, what he knew for sure now was that Star Force wasn't only exceptionally heavy, it was also very good at using this weight of its to purify.
All this time, silently churning away at the atmosphere's Force to turn it into Leonel's Soul Force, it never stopped, it never deviated, it never slowed…
At this moment, though, suddenly being flooded with Dream Force that rapidly catalyzed its very core into the highest level of Soul Force in existence… It finally evolved.
The slight diamond blue color of the Three Stars became more prominent. Its pure white was peeled back to reveal a heart tingling blue that sparkled like the most gorgeous of crystals.
The mist that hung around Leonel's Ethereal Glabella gained this gentle blue hue as well. It especially enveloped the roots of the Mage Core, causing its small budding form to suddenly grow.
From a size of just over six inches, the Mage Core shot up, soon soaring to over two meters in height.
Its petals gently swayed in the turbulence, now being several feet across each…