Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1408: Two [Bonus]

[Fuck you Chrono. These next few curses will make your balls curdle, I promise]

[The Abyssal Cathedral (Astral)]

[Level Maximum: 50]

[Recommended: 15 000 Physical]

[Entry Limit: 50]

[Description: A temple of warship and the pleading tides of a fallen god. Buried beneath the blackened waters of time, history, and deathly oceans, the tides pull at your very soul and crush you beneath their heft. Reach toward the pearly depths and face off against enemies lurking in the dark] —

Sylas stood in the common room of his vessel. To his back, Andromeda was strapped in behind a glass wall as though a throne. It was the main cockpit of the vessel.

This hall, though, was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows looking out into the outside world. But from the outside of the vessel, it just looked like a sleek silver exterior. It was a level of one-sided mirror that didnʼt exist on Earth and was quite fascinating to Sylas when he first saw it.

Now, it was just commonplace.

Their target was down below, and he could already see the hovering description.

Usually, you had to be right in front of a portal to see such a description. But Sylas was actually seeing it from such a distance. They hadnʼt even landed on the planet down below yet, but as though a warning, it boldly took up the entirety of his vision.

This would be his first Astral Dungeon. Rather than starting with the two easier ones, he had actually chosen this one for a very specific reason.

The Abyssal Cathedral was a true danger zone. However, the recommended stats were ”only” 15,000 Physical. Compared to the others that asked for 20,000 and 25,000 Mental respectively, it was much less.

The catch was the fact the Entry Limit was 50.

This Dungeon wasnʼt meant to be cleared alone. It wasnʼt meant to be cleared with a small squadron. It was meant to be cleared by a small army of geniuses.

That was what made it so fearsome.

You could barely find one E-tier with 15,000 Physical in the entire Sector, if any at all. Finding an F-tier capable of this was impossible.

Finding 50 of them wasnʼt even a pipe dream—you might be shuttled into a psych ward just for suggesting it.

And yet, it was Sylasʼ first target, and he very obviously didnʼt have an army with him. Plus, by the description, this was no Serpent Dungeon either.

Only he seemed to know what he was thinking.

”Holy shit… Syl, are you sure about this?” Alex couldnʼt help but mutter at what he was looking at, but as he expected, Sylas didnʼt even respond.

They had made it here faster than he thought, so Sylas had only had time to consolidate some of the breakthroughs he had made during the other Dungeon runs.

But that was fine. He still had another three months to work with. That was when the real fun would begin.

In that case, he could spend some time here first.

”Weʼll hover here for a week. Anchor down, and if itʼs necessary, enter a queue.”

Jalaʼs lip twitched. He had been very silent these last few months. It felt like the last time he had spoken, Sylasʼ actions had blown him completely out of the water.

There was little left of his pride anyway, but these words still sounded insane.

Of course, this time, that wasnʼt because it was Sylas—it was instead because of the others.

Enter a queue? How could there be a queue for such a ridiculous Dungeon?

Usually, a popular Dungeon would have such a thing. Part of setting things up and being as efficient as possible had actually required scheduling their entries.

But for an Astral Dungeon, most would have a death wish to enter such a thing. Who did they have to queue up against?

Unfortunately for Jala, he was wrong yet again. There was no one from this Sector queueing up. But what was the specialty of an Astral Dungeon in the first place…? Wasnʼt it in how it allowed those from outside the Sector to display their full power in its range?

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Jalaʼs heart shuddered as his gaze turned toward the radar.

He knew how this ship was designed. It would only trigger that sound if a threatening vessel appeared nearby. But in these last three months, not a single vessel they came across had triggered such a warning. But now… there were suddenly four in the vicinity?

Read on lig‌ht‌no‌‌vel‌world‌.o‌rg

Where had these people come from?

Subconsciously, Jala looked toward Sylas for support, but he was already gone. Clearly… he had already known this would happen.

”Wanna go see some aliens?” Alex asked with a grin.

”NO.” Jala immediately refused.

He had already accepted it. The only one in the universe insane enough to enter a Dungeon like this one while shooting so far beneath the recommended stats and Entry Limit was Sylas Grimblade.

That meant every one of those other ships was filled with monsters. The more mysterious they remained, the better.

—

”Hm? A newcomer. Do you recognize that design structure?”

On one of the four vessels Jala hoped to avoid, the voice of a young man echoed.

He looked almost entirely human except for two oddities. The first were on the back of his hands. Odd bone protrusions formed a cast almost as though he had permanent gauntlets granted to him by the heavens themselves.

The second oddity came from his head. They were more bone protrusions, weaving together like a crown of thorns that fit in well with his black hair without interrupting it.

If one didnʼt look closely, these would look more like accessories than an actual part of his body.

Well, there was a third oddity… and that was the crimson irises he sported, a pair of eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything and burning them to ash.

In response to his question, a young woman looked over. They were quite similar, seemingly a pair of siblings. But what the likes of Jala would immediately notice was that the only others on the vessel were well above F-tier.

Clearly…

These two planned to enter alone.

”Hm?!” The brows of the young woman jumped as though she had noticed something.