Chapter 180 - Trapped

Leonel's face slightly twisted in pain. No matter how used he was to injuries by now, the feeling of having his hand practically explode from the inside out left him wanting to cry out.

The other three youths looked toward him with fear evident in their eyes. It was just a simple touch, but Leonel's ending had actually been so terrible. If he held on for just a fraction of a second longer, just how much worse would his injuries be?

Leonel took several deep breaths.

Maybe the worst part about all of this was the loss of his hand. A Force Crafter's hands were the most important part of their body. With his left hand in this state, it simply wouldn't be possible to craft anything.

'... I'm too reckless...'

Leonel clenched his jaw.

"Retreat."

Leonel ordered this the moment he saw how helpless the situation was. That break in his Force Skin had shaved off more than half the remaining time the Force Skin treasure he had forged had. It wouldn't be long before it shattered completely. By then, there was no telling how horrible his ending would be.

However, just when he wanted to retreat, Leonel's expression changed.

It had been so easy to walk in, but he found that the way out made him feel as though he was walking against quicksand.

Leonel's expression immediately became ugly. What the hell was going on?

"What's going on? I feel like I can't take a step back no matter how much I want to."

The three youths looked toward Leonel, then looked at one another. There were clear hints of despair on their faces, but what could they do?

Thunderous Clap tried to fight his way out, throwing out thunderous punches that rocked the air, but he found himself sliding back with every strike.

Flowing Wind and Roaring Black Lion tried their hands at it too. In fact, the former had the greatest shot and even almost succeeded, trying to ride the flow of Force. But in the end, just when it looked like she might succeed, she was blasted backward. Had it not been for Roaring Black Lion catching her before she landed on the Force Crystal Core, her outcome would have been even sorrier.

Leonel's mind spun. However, no matter how hard he thought, everything pointed in a singular direction: Force Strengthening Deviations.

The only way to overwhelm Force was with Force of greater quantity or quality.

Right now, he couldn't spare thoughts toward maturing the Force Crystal Core. Wasting stamina on it would just make it so that they were less likely to survive. With only a little over three hours, every small bit of stamina could decide life and death.

'I need to improve my Light Elemental Force or my Spear Force...'

Leonel's eyes flashed open. He pushed forward his only good remaining hand, stabbing out toward the edge of the Force Eruption's influence.

But, what he saw left him feeling helpless. Even with the amplification of his Spear Force, his [Call of the Wind] only traveled a meter before being shattered completely.

Taking a deep breath, Leonel attempted to fuse his Light Elemental Force into the attack. It wasn't a perfect fusion, but it was barely enough to gain a small amplification.

He pierced out once more, but the result was just as depressing. It barely passed the two and a half meter mark before being crushed. That was still almost a full eight meters from the edge they needed to escape from.

'The closer to escaping the energy fluctuations it was, the harder it is to cross. The one to two meter distance was at least twice as difficult to cross as the zero to one meter distance... I need to improve...'

Leonel could only turn his hopes back to the dictionary. It said that there were levels beyond... right?