Leonel snapped himself back to reality, a cold chill seeping into his heart.
Of these spirits, the majority were 'greyed' out. As though a locked character on a gaming screen, Leonel knew that he didn't have anywhere near the power or strength that would be needed to awaken them. In fact, from the information he received, he might never have this strength.
However, among these 'greyed out' spirits there were several that had color to them. Among them was a face Leonel thought he would never see again… Alexandre.
That 'king' with so much ambition, waiting to conquer the world with this very same tablet in his hand, ended up becoming just one of the many spirits within.
It was then Leonel fully understood.
This tablet, in exchange for a price, was capable of resurrecting those from the Zone Leonel just exited.
Rather than being excited at such a prospect, Leonel suddenly felt the need to vomit.
Just what was this tablet? How could it gamify the lives and deaths of living, breathing people? How could it set a price on them and a cost for them to see the light of day again?
Leonel felt a gut wrenching urge to throw this tablet away. No, he wanted to destroy it with every fiber of his being, shatter it into a million little pieces and incinerate it with the hottest star in the universe.
Seeing the sacrifice of his men being twisted in such a perverse and sickening way made his pale purple eyes redden with unshed tears.
Was this all a joke?
Had this tablet fabricated such a world for the sake of finding Leonel? Or had it cursed an already existing world for the same purpose?
Leonel couldn't decide which was worse. Both possibilities felt like a knife twisting through his intestines, gouging him from the inside out.
Leonel took several deep breaths, his hands falling to his knees and his chest heaving. His mouth began producing saliva at a rate that made it seem he really might vomit any moment now.
It wasn't until several long minutes later that Leonel managed to calm himself, that sinking weight on his back acting as a counterbalance to his emotions.
Leonel almost wanted to laugh at himself. He had just gained this newfound confidence, yet in just a few minutes, it had already been shattered not just once, but twice. In fact, this second time, he almost fell apart completely.
Others might see this tablet as some sort of work of God, but Leonel found it hard to look at it as anything other than the hand of a Devil.
Leonel closed his eyes, sealing away his emotions. He found it far easier to do this the more ways he could split his mind. Now that he had reached more than a thousand, it was even simpler now.
'The greyed out souls are of those who are died. The tablet needs to be fed a certain amount of sacrifices in order to even prepare to resurrect one of them.
'The colored souls are those that didn't die. The cost of recovering them is far less. In fact, the tablet already has enough to do so for one right now.
'In terms of sacrifices, Invalids have a good exchange rate, especially Variant Invalids. Talented humans are another good exchange, especially those with Innate Nodes, and even more especially for those that have Innate Nodes related to Life Elemental Force.'
These were the main rules Leonel was able to piece together, but he could tell that there were several exceptions.
For example, someone with a Life Elemental Innate Node like Normand's fiancée didn't need to be killed, taking her blood over a longer period of time would even be more beneficial. After all, killing her would be like killing a goose who laid golden eggs.
In addition to this, though Leonel didn't believe Aina had an Innate Node, at least as far as he knew, he could tell that her blood to this silver tablet would be even more valuable than Normand's fiancée's.
Of course, Leonel had no intention of bleeding his girlfriend dry just for the sake of this tablet. In addition, Normand's fiancée was greyed out like the others. But, rather than this being due to her dying, it seemed that it wasn't easy for the tablet to reproduce what could give it life.
That said, considering Leonel's personality, he had no intention of using her even if he could resurrect her now.
'I can only resurrect one person for now and there's no telling when I'll be able to accumulate enough energy to resurrect another. So, I need to choose a person who puts me in the best position to lay out the next portion of my plans…'
Leonel had already decided.
In the past, he had no intention of joining the Morales family's Heir Games. But, now, things were different.
Leonel had no intention of not taking advantage of the luck he had been given in this life. If he wanted to reach his ultimate goal, even given how impossible it was, he would have to take hold of whatever leg up he had.
In that case, not only would he become the Successor of the Morales family, he would become the Successor of his grandmother's Luxnix family and he would most definitely snatch Earth away from his grandfather.
This Dimensional Verse… He would change it.
In that case, there was one person here who would facilitate that better than everyone else, one person that would make Leonel's next steps far simpler… And this one person also happened to cost just as much as the remaining energy the tablet had.
Choosing this person would most definitely piss the people of Valiant Heart off. However, when it came to the future he envisioned, Leonel wouldn't allow anyone to stand in his way.
Leonel's eyes snapped open, their pale violet hue shimmering through the darkness.
With a thought, the young man he was looking for appeared before him, carrying with him a handsome face that most definitely rivaled Leonel's own.
"Elthor Umewraek, Third Prince of the Oryx Kingdom. You will be the first."
[End of Volume. I've chosen to change Volume 4's title from Milky Way to Valiant Heart. Many more adventures to come! This is where Leonel's journey truly begins… His journey to stand atop the Dimensional Verse!]