Dream Path took inspiration from both the Ability Index and Aina's ability. Leonel had always found it fascinating that Aina was able to intuit the next step of her progression and had wondered what it would feel like to have such an ability.
Of course, Leonel was under no illusions that Dream Path would be anywhere near as good as Aina's own innate ability. At best, it could simulate maybe 1 or 2% of the effect. However, Leonel still felt that this was enough of a helping hand to push his teammates in the right direction.
It was clear that they were growing well on their own. If one was purely looking at their Dimensions, they had already left him far behind. But, Leonel wanted to give them more focused growth.
"Joel, you fall into the Blade Affinity Ability Index, right?"
Joel nodded. In the beginning, he could only add a sharpened aura to his weapons. But now, he had grown far beyond just that. The only difference between himself and Emna from Crimson Hall was that the latter specialized in short blades and daggers while he preferred polearm weapons like his pike, or a halberd or spear.
At the moment, he still used the same D-grade Pike he had earned from his very first Zone. But, this was still enough to leave him among the average in terms of weapons. He had mostly not changed it due to sentimental value.
"How far along are you in comprehending your Universal Cycles?"
"I've comprehended Winter and Summer on my own. But, I'm having trouble with the milder Spring and Fall."
Leonel continued to ask Joel several questions before he fell into silence, closing his eyes.
After several minutes, Leonel extended a finger forward, pressing it to Joel's forehead. In that moment, Joel experienced what felt like a dream, but it was as though he was lucid for every moment of it. Everything was so vivid that he almost began acting out every step of it.
The dream didn't have any words or any expressed advice. It was more like a feeling… Joel felt like he was experiencing years of life and becoming wiser with every passing moment. By the end of it, he 'felt' as though he could see a vague path forward.
Leonel exhaled a long breath as he retracted his finger.
If he wanted Joel and the others to comprehend everything on their own, he couldn't just give them comprehension. What he could do instead was give them a vague feeling of the path forward that made an unfamiliar path seem familiar to them.
At the moment, Leonel was able to simulate about a year ahead for them. This would be able to streamline the process they would have made in a year into a fraction of the time. This was Dream Path.
Leonel knew that he could likely simulate more time, but the more he pushed, the less accurate he would become and more likely it would be for them to stray off course. This was the best outcome for his current level.
Once he was finished with Joel, Leonel moved on to Milan.
"Milan, your Energy Shield Ability Index is almost at the Reflection Stage, correct?"
"Mhm." Milan nodded. "Very close. But, I doubt that if we went up a Dimension that it would even be at the Nullification Stage."
"And your Universal Cycles?"
Milan scratched his head. "I've never really thought about it. Isn't that just for weapons and elements? I wouldn't even know how to integrate it with my ability if it was possible to integrate with an ability at all."
Leonel nodded, fell into silence then pressed a finger onto Milan's forehead as well before moving on to Raj.
"Raj, your Earth Affinity Ability Index is a bit unique… It's difficult to rise it up to higher levels on your own..."
The Earth Affinity or any Elemental affinity ability could be separated into multiple potential branching evolution paths. Some paths focused on volume of the Element that could be moved, others focused on evolution of the Element itself say from red flames to blue flames, and still others focused on auxiliary abilities that could be produced. For example, Supreme Monet's Fire Affinity Ability Index evolved abilities that could heal her. This would fall into the third category. Do you want to read more chapters? Come to p a n d a - n ov el,c.o.m
As for Raj, Leonel believed that his fell into the second category: the evolution of the Element. This meant that Raj's strength wouldn't be in the volume of earth he could move, but rather in the quality of earth he could produce.
Something like Elthor's Chaotic Particle Force would be at the highest end of what Raj could achieve. As for at the simplest end, it would be the normal earth beneath their feet.
However, this is just an example. Leonel knew that Raj's evolution path was especially tied to carbon. If the Third Dimension was his peak, he would be aiming for something like Diamond, Graphene or Buckypaper.
In higher Dimensions, there would be even more unique structures to form and it would all rely on Raj's training and ingenuity. The unfortunate part was that Raj wasn't the sharpest tool in the box. Even until this point, he was still using normal earth as though this was his limit.
If one took an objective measurement of all eight of them, Raj's ability definitely had the greatest potential and was one of the few Ability Indexes that didn't have a simple five step journey to the top.
But, ironically, this difficulty for Raj made it the easiest for Leonel to guide. Unlike everyone else who Leonel had to be subtle with, with Raj, Leonel could just etch the step by step progression into his mind.
Raj would never understand the nuances of the chemical structure. However, Leonel could make him understand the 'feel' so that he could do it naturally.
If there was anyone who could guide Raj in the subtleties of minerals and rocks, it was Leonel. Not only this, but Leonel could also simulate unique structures for Raj to create and make use of that might not even exist naturally in the world. It was almost a shame that this ability was born within Raj and not Leonel himself.
Leonel was certain that by the time he returned, Raj would probably be the strongest of the eight of them.
"Ah! I could do this?! Why didn't anyone tell me?!"
Raj smacked his own forehead with a meaty palm, causing Leonel to laugh beside himself.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Leonel looked toward Allan.
"Allan, you've always wanted to become a programmer, right? How about I help you with that?"