Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1743 Mother Earth

Sylas instantly cancelled his plans and shifted his thoughts about the Sloth.

The Sin of Sloth was one of laziness, not cowardice. It was painted often as cowardice because putting oneself into dangerous situations almost always required more work to get out of, so the Sloth always avoided it where he could.

But it seemed the fear the Sloth felt for the Glutton wasnʼt because he felt the latter was impossible to handle. It was because he didnʼt want to have to handle it.

In the end, the Reaper Sealwright Profession was far more important to him.

Sylas could only adjust his thoughts on the fly, but that didnʼt make what was about to happen any easier. Now he was stuck between two D-tier warriors, neither of which he could see the true stats of, and both of whom wanted a piece of him.

All the while, his greatest asset, his Will, was being burned away faster than he could replenish it for the first time in as long as he could remember. The trouble of keeping the Scorned Wraps active so he could rely on Fusion with the Hollow Wing was almost too much to keep up with at all.

Fantastic.

[Hollow Veil].

The Slothʼs arm passed right through Sylasʼ body as though the latter wasnʼt there at all. In the same instant of time, Sylas activated [Hollow Burst], crossed just a few dozen meters to appear right behind the Glutton.

Before Sylas could even do anything, a shield appeared behind the Glutton even as the Sloth groaned in protest.

BANG.

The Glutton punched out, sending the Sloth flying, his body already pivoting to deal with Sylas who was punching out himself.

[Hollow Claw].

Sylasʼ long claws scratched across the air, piercing through space and leaving jagged lines of silver and black. They shot forward, colliding with the Gluttonʼs body.

It didnʼt take a genius to see that the Glutton simply had no real intention of dodging. He didnʼt believe that Sylas could do any damage to him at all.

All the more reason he was surprised when he actually took a step back, his body shaking and blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth.

”Hm?”

It was the first sound the Glutton had made since he appeared, confusion coloring his eyes for but a moment before they went red.

He licked the blood away from the corner of his lips. [Hollow Claw] was capable of ignoring all defenses. His Constitution might as well have been made of paper just now.

But even so, it was only external defenses. There was only so much damage someone as weak as Sylas could do to his inner organs directly. That and... What damage was formed almost instantly healed, the Gluttonʼs passive healing factor more than enough to make up for it. The sheer amount of energy radiating through his veins with how much he ate every day painted the image of a man with unlimited reserves.

At that moment, the Sloth appeared high in the skies, frowning when he saw that the Glutton was actually injured. Even the Gluttonʼs strike hadnʼt really hurt him all that much earlier, but Sylas had managed to draw blood? Why was this F-tier so hard to deal with?

The Glutton didnʼt move immediately, but then he looked up at Sylas again after checking his body.

”You didnʼt attack again,” he said. Then he understood. ”You canʼt attack again.”

No one else could sense it clearly, but the Glutton and the Sloth certainly could. They knew a Madness Disciple using the Scorned Wraps when they saw one.

Whatever abilities Sylas was using now, he needed to obscure the vision of the system to do it. Meaning... it had limitations.

Sylas didnʼt say a word. Instead, he slapped his palms toward.

[Hollow Bloom].

In one moment, they arose in a deserted city filled with corpses, death, and destruction.

In the next, it had become a blooming field of bones and glassy thorns. Sylasʼ Will pumped through them, and as though they had become extensions of himself, they began to claw and chip away at the Wills of his two opponents.

”How many of these abilities do you have? And what is the cooldown?” the Glutton asked, his voice still filled with gravel.

Sylas didnʼt reply again, but he felt a strong tug on his Will just now. He was very close to spilling out the secrets all on his own, and the realization more than surprised him.

The Sloth had his candle cloning Profession, part of the reason he looked like his skin was melting all the time.

This Glutton, though... he seemed to have a very specific charming Profession, and Sylas had a strong guess as to why.

”Your Will as an F-tier is... exceptional,” the Glutton said calmly. ”Unfortunately, it is not enough. Mother... earth.”

”Shit.”

The echo of the Slothʼs voice was one of the last things Sylas registered before it happened.

His field of bones and glass spurs shattered as trees and foliage initiated to rise out of the ground. Roots tore through roads and buildings were knocked over, what protections they had on them-drawn by exceptional Rune Masters-being torn away and sucked dry.

Sylas almost instantly fell to a knee, the draw on his Will doubling.

The Sloth was rapidly increasing distance, only coming to a stop when the canopy of the trees likewise came to a stop.

The Glutton glanced at Sylas and then up at the Sloth. ”Your Will... is pretty good too.”

”... Oh fuck... off...” the Sloth mumbled. This was exactly what he was afraid of. He, too, gave Sylas a quick glance, but the latter was already losing fat on his cheeks.

Gluttons that loved food were relatively easier to deal with. The Sloth had even killed a few in the past just in passing.

But ones like this, ones that didnʼt walk around with huge, rotund bellies because they preferred to gorge themselves on lives and Wills instead... Those were the true monsters of the Gluttony Doctrine.

This was a problem for everyone, because once the Glutton started, youʼd have a hard time stopping him.

And with that Profession... killing him was near impossible. At worst, you could just stand there and watch him escape.