Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1031  Gold

”Thereʼs something happening. The Golden Grove is reacting abnormally.”

The location was a dark space. However, the moment the first person spoke, one floating face after another began to swirl into existence.

While they looked to be normally sized, in reality, each face was kilometers across, representing just their reserves of Aether. There was no doubt that every one of these old faces was a powerhouse amongst powerhouses, standing firmly within the D-Grade… or maybe even the C.

”Someone is clearing it at an astonishing pace. Given the speed, it feels like someone in the E-Grade, but the settings are set to F. Has there been a glitch?”

”Impossible. The Golden Grove was left by our Ancestors. It wouldnʼt have a problem.”

”It has been a very long time since it was properly maintained.”

”You know that the Golden Grove is self-healing.”

”Nothing lives forever…”

”Thereʼs no problem.”

A familiar voice echoed. It wasnʼt Megeanʼs grandfather, but instead Zayreusʼ… Niafon.

”Whatʼs going on, Niafon?”

”The old bastard found someone who can use Andromeda.”

”Thatʼs the person going through the Golden Grove right now?”

”Yes.”

Silence fell.

”Is this a problem? If Old Brama has finally found someone who can use that thing, itʼs good for us.”

”You know as well as I do that Andromeda canʼt be used, even if it was possible,” Niafon said coldly.

Silence fell once again.

The danger of Andromeda was well known to them. If their enemies knew that it was possible, it would dredge up a great deal of conflict when they werenʼt nearly ready enough yet.

In fact, there were many here that prepared to never be ready at all.

It had been so long since the doctrines of their Ancestors had been a firm root within them. Wasnʼt it better to just continue along their current route? Making money while not offending anyone?

Every time they stepped out of that lane… just how many of them ended up dying?

”I disagree.” A cold voice came. ”I agreed with suppressing Old Brama because his methods werenʼt getting us anywhere. All he did was wipe out a substantial amount of our capital for a device that couldnʼt be used by anyone. But now things have changed.”

It was the old head of a floating woman that spoke, Yaoyao of the Unitaurs.

The loss of Old Bramaʼs position had obviously declined the strength the Unitaurs had in the guild overall. If there was anyone that wanted to see that situation reversed, it was certainly Yaoyao and her compatriots.

But she wasnʼt alone. And she also wasnʼt only speaking for personal reasons either.

They were a pair of warrior Races that seemed to have lost their roots. This wasnʼt what they were meant to do with the rest of their lives.

Plus… there were other Races outside of the Unitaurs and Aurans that were present right now as well. They might be the main two, but there were more than just two pillars to their guild.

Together…

Well, that was a story they hadnʼt spoken of in a very long time.

Suddenly, the world they were in trembled before a reply could be made to Yaoyao.

**

Sylasʼ figure was a blur. Even now, he was still accelerating, his body leaving streaks of green lightning in the air that sparked and latched onto the gold as though to overwhelm it.

He could feel the root of the Gold here clearly…

Poison.

It was a Poison with both a physical and incorporeal form, attacking both the body and the mind.

The first was a cancerous form, weeding its way into the body and turning you into a statue of gold. The latter filled you with a greed for more, making you not realize the danger you were in until it was much too late to do anything about it.

This was the suffocating pressure of Gold.

When Sylas began running, he could feel it pressuring him from all sides, but his Poison Affinity wasnʼt minor. More importantly than that, he had Runes specially designed to divide and conquer Poisons. Because of this, his ability to decipher the Runes ahead was even easier.

The Runes, on the surface, seemed to be matters of controlling wealth. But on a deeper, more invisible plane, it was controlling this poison.

How to control vast amounts of wealth. How to make sure the greed in the hearts of your underlings didnʼt consume them. How to make sure the pursuit of money didnʼt overwhelm you instead…

The underlying meaning of the Runes was far deeper than anyone could have imagined.

It was then Sylas realized the underlying principles of the Golden Grove werenʼt so simple at all. They seemed to have formed just like any other Merchant Guild, just one that happened to be more successful than a lot of others.

But in action, they were hiding a secret… a Poison that shocked the heart.

At the F-Grade, just the faintest inklings Sylas grasped of it required 60 Foundations at worst. Right now, even Sylasʼ best Glassvolt Runes were at 70 Foundations.

There was certainly more to unearth from the Glassvolt Runes. It was just that Sylas hadnʼt had a chance to observe anything greater.

The Runes he observed from the All-Seeing Eyeʼs fury were purely Lightning, and though they helped him push his Gene Class to a new level, they didnʼt help elevate his Glassvolt Runes overall.

But right now, observing this Poison here, Sylas felt like he was seeing a new world.

This was Poison… this was the truest extent of what it could be capable of. It wasnʼt just a corrosion of the body, it was a corrosion of the person.

The faster Sylas moved, the more the Poison attacked him, and the more he observed.

He felt that he could finally see what was missing here. His Glassvolt Runes… what was their essence?

He could distill the Strokes of the Scorpion in real meaning. But could he do the same for his Glassvolt Runes?

Thoughts of the sky and fury pelting down overwhelmed Sylas.

And then he saw it… a Throne of Glass hanging high in the skies amidst the chaos.

His foot slammed down on the road again, lightning erupting from his irises.

BANG!