Genetic Ascension

Chapter 941  Sudden Change

[Quest Leaderboard]

[1. Sylas Grimblade - 360]

[2. —]

—

Sylas pulled back, leaping once, then twice before he was a great distance from the dead worm.

Looking down at his arm, he frowned. There was a sickening wiggle to his muscles right now that made it feel as though there were snakes writhing beneath his skin.

The pulse of his heart became wild, and his skin reddened. It felt like he might collapse at any time.

Immediately, he dismissed Berserk.

ʼ… Troublesome…ʼ

He knew it wouldnʼt be so simple, but he had tried it anyway.

Berserk was a weak F+ Skill. Trying to scale it up with his overwhelming stats was like trying to squeeze a basketball through a baseball-sized hole.

The Skill wasnʼt good enough, so a lot of what he was pumping into it was wasted. Logically, he should be able to gain tens of thousands of Physical stat points given his current Will.

But setting aside that he would never push it so far to avoid the backlash to the mind that came with abusing [Berserk], it seemed that he wouldnʼt even be able to get close without ripping himself apart.

The pathways of the Skill werenʼt nearly efficient enough. Unfortunately, Sylas didnʼt have any references he could use to make it better.

ʼIʼll have to limit myself to a +0.1 increase to my Physical stats for now and work from there…ʼ

The pathways of the Skill werenʼt nearly efficient enough. Unfortunately, Sylas didnʼt have any references he could use to make it better.

ʼIʼll have to limit myself to a +0.1 increase to my Physical stats for now and work from there…ʼ

The bright side was that in that case, he could practically use [Berserk] continuously. Although this Skill technically worked by ”sacrificing” Will, because he had Forging Will and [Maddened Enlightenment], his Will recovered faster than he could even use it on [Berserk].

In this case, [Berserk] being such a weak Skill actually worked to his benefit.

The bad news was that a +0.1 boost wasnʼt even enough to defeat this F- earthworm he had just come across, let alone more powerful creatures.

The good news was that he wouldnʼt just have it alone to rely on.

Sylasʼ telekinesis surged and the head of the earthworm split wider. The contents of its skull spilled out in a mush until there…

Plus… if improving his Physical was what he wanted, he had other methods to do that. Methods far more powerful than what he had here.

ʼIt seems Iʼll just have to use it, then. Letʼs see just how powerful Forged Will is.ʼ

Sylas bent forward, picking up the Gene Core.

ʼThere really are Genes in here… but these are all Bronze. And so few at that. There seem to be only three Bronze Genes to gain out of this…ʼ

Things had always been like this for beasts, though. For some reason, you could only get very specific Genes from them. Usually, killing a fellow human was far more cost-effective.

—

[New Challenger has Appeared]

—

[Quest Leaderboard]

[1. Lorien Myst - 1000]

[2. Sylas Grimblade - 360]

—

Sylas was lost in thought when the notification triggered. His eyes narrowed…

This was the last name he expected to see here. It wasnʼt until this moment that he realized that this Progenitor Quest wouldnʼt be as simple as it seemed.

He wasnʼt just battling against an arbitrary challenge set by what was effectively an open-air Dungeon little different from a Dynamic Field Dungeon despite having the tag of Quest linked to it.

No… there were participants other than Earthlings here.

ʼWhat does this mean? What is…ʼ

Sylasʼ eyes narrowed.

Lorienʼs actions back then had seemed very risky for someone who didnʼt have the protection of a Summoned World. Risky was likely too nice of a description; they were nothing short of reckless.

ʼShe was preparing for this.ʼ

It was a leap in logic, but Sylas was fairly certain that he had at least a 60% chance of being correct. If another name appeared…

—

—

[Quest Leaderboard]

[1. Lorien Myst - 1000]

[2. Sylas Grimblade - 360]

[3. Ulrik Vecunish - 250]

—

Sylasʼ thoughts fell into silence. That confirmed it.

Was it a coincidence? Possibly.

But first, the Thryskai take the risk of putting up such a treasure for Ulrik to claim, and then Lorien takes an even greater risk to take it for herself?

They had known this was coming. And by all rights, there were certainly others that knew it was coming as well.

ʼSeven days.ʼ Sylas thought.

No matter what, before his bills to the Madness Key came due, he had to clear this Quest. It was a goal that would have been near impossible even if he was just facing off against people of Earth, not because he feared them, but because this Quest was clearly one designed for the long haul.

They acutely reset all their stats, forcing them to build themselves back up in a world they knew nothing about. Well… a world that they were supposed to know nothing about.

Sylas wouldnʼt be surprised if this Progenitor Quest was meant to take place over the course of months at worst—years more likely.

But he didnʼt have that sort of time.

This world was capped at Silver. How could he gather Gold Genes here? And his only path out of this couldnʼt be executed in the confines of his Quest.

Now, it seemed even more impossible to accomplish.

He was not just facing off against geniuses of the Skai Galaxy, but existences that had known enough about this battlefield to prepare for it in advance.

The worst part was that questions to the Madness Key now cost Gold Genes. He couldnʼt even use it for support, while he had left Szorn with Cassarae in order to help protect her.

Sylas seemed to have completely forgotten about the Gene Core in his hand.

He knew he needed a change in tactics the moment Lorienʼs name appeared. As for the rage when he saw Ulrikʼs name, it had become a smothered ember in the depths of his soul. That… wouldnʼt erupt just yet.

Not until he laid eyes on him.

ʼThereʼs only one way.ʼ

Sylas took a step and then dove into the snow. Finding a tunnel the earthworm had excavated, he entered it and allowed himself to be buried as his mind sunk into the Madness Key.