Leonel had no idea what was going on so far away from himself. It was true that he had never considered the possibility that someone would try to form diplomatic relations with the Oryx, but this was mostly because of how unlikely that it was.
The Oryx were not human. This was maybe the most important reason. Though racism wasn't very prevalent amongst humans any longer—at least not in Leonel's experience—that was only because it was replaced by another sort of race war, one between species.
Unfortunately, no matter where you were, racism was an almost inevitable part of life. There was nothing people liked to do more than participate in tribalism. The grotesque part of it all was that it was rooted in good. People had the inherent want to be connected and feel connected to one another. It was just unfortunate that this good was often twisted and contorted into what Leonel believed to be the ugliest thing in the world.
What better way to feel more connected to those around you than to exclude the 'others'? If everyone was connected, was anyone connected at all?
It was these kind of thoughts that had always pervaded the psyche of the Dimensional Verse and it manifested in the form of race wars all too often.
It could be said that the only reason Earth had weeded out racism was because of its hands on approach. The Ascension Empire fused the continents into one. A monolithic culture was formed. There were no large swaths of communities where only a single type of face could be seen…
Of course, Earth still had its own in groups and outgroups—that being the people who could call the surface home and those that could not. But, they had still made great leaps and bounds in that direction and it was about the only thing Leonel respected about his grandfather's Empire.
However… outside of Earth, these things couldn't be said to be the same.
The Milky Way happened to be a Galaxy of humans, so these matters weren't very prevalent on a large scale. But, they still appeared in small doses here and there… One of which was the Oryx themselves.
Leonel had never thought that anyone would reach out a hand to ally with the Oryx because of these reasons. He felt that he understood human psychology very well, at least enough to be quite firm in his predictions against this happening…
But, what he never considered was the fact that someone would make this move precisely because they felt that no one else would do so.
The trouble was that now, even though Leonel had the initiative and the advantage of race on his side, he wasn't able to plan out his next move because he was stuck in this trial world.
It would all be up to Elthor…
…
Leonel took deep, sweeping breaths. Every time he did so, large swaths of blue Star Force swarmed into his mouth, spiraling about the air and into a funnel formation.
Leonel sealed his lips almost as though he was tasting something, but the truth was that he was monitoring the change in his body, trying to see if the changes he had made were functioning properly or if he needed to make more adjustments.
'Fascinating…'
The more time Leonel spent in this trial, the more he realized just how much of a genius this creator was. It seemed as though this was nothing but a long, drawn out trial of battle, but with every new discovery Leonel made, he realized how far from the truth this was.
Logically speaking, it didn't make sense that a Star Force that could stop him from feeling hungry or tired couldn't also help his stamina. At least this was the case if he was correct about Star Force being this all encompassing energy source that could be applied to anything…
But, who was to say that this was true?
Anyone with half a brain knew that depending on the device, it would need a different power source. Or, at the very least, that power source would have to be packaged in a different way.
Back in the 21st century, Earth had batteries that were split into all sorts of rankings. Technically, they all functioned similarly and had near identical mechanisms by which they worked, but they came in all different shapes and sizes and couldn't be casually swapped out for one another.
Leonel believed that this blue Star Force was like a single type of those batteries. In its base form, it was capable of halting fatigue and hunger, but did nothing for muscle recovery, oxygen supplementation, or anything of the like.
However, Leonel then realized something else. Technically, this blue Star Force should be unable to become the blade of his weapon, right? After all, it wasn't an attack type Star Force like Leonel's Scarlet Star Force was. And yet, hadn't it fused with his blade just fine?
That was when Leonel understood that this was a hidden puzzle. In fact, maybe the gradual weight his body was gaining was a puzzle as well.
As for what Leonel's task was? It was adjust the uses of this blue Star Force to fit his needs better than they already were.
Even if he didn't feel hunger or the need to sleep, if his stamina hit a wall, what good would that do for him?
So, Leonel got to work. His first goal? To have this Star Force become capable of replacing his oxygen intake with far more efficiency.
Funny enough, this brought Leonel right back to Mage Arts and their creation. This time, he focused everything he had on the Star Element, trying to formulate a Force Art that would allow him to satiate his body's thirst for air.
Once he finished that, he would move on to his muscle fatigue and attack that weakness as well. With the abundance of Star Force there was in the air, how could he not take advantage?
Due to his measured steps and far weaker body, Leonel only fell further and further behind the others, completely unaware that he even had competitors. However, the further toward completion he approached with this Force Art, the brighter Leonel's gaze glowed.