Genetic Ascension

Chapter 672: Layers

Sylas stood over a familiar Aether Stone mine.

Not much had changed in the Woodland Territory at all. Because of Sylasʼ efforts, everything had remained stable, and there was no sign of an overflow of Demons just yet.

If there was anything that changed, it was the fact that Tasia had successfully made him a very rich man once again.

ʼThe mines can be very dangerous,ʼ Sylas said lightly.

He had left Cole and his family behind in the System City for that reason. He didnʼt have any real confidence in mining this Aether Stone mine himself, but he would have to at least give it a try. Maybe his Luck would be able to warn him.

But he would only do this if he found what he needed down below.

Sylas needed two things from this mine. The first thing was enough Aether Stone to help the Basilisk King complete its next evolution, and the second was the 10,000 F-Grade Gold Aether Stones he needed to use his Temporal Lock Treasure.

He was fairly certain the mine had enough for the first, judging by his Insight Path Talent, but not for the second. In fact, he wasnʼt sure if the mine even had a single Gold Aether Stone to begin with. He had only seen Fragmented ones at the surface.

The only way to find out was to go in himself.

Sylas entered the mine and began to make his way deeper.

According to his understanding, the mine would only be dangerous if he started to dig. So he should be fine for now.

ʼDeadend...ʼ

Sylas went another direction, but he continued to find dead ends.

ʼAbout as expected. If there were going to be any higher-level Aether Stones, they would be buried deeper. The ones nearer the surface had the chance to dissipate some of their strength somewhat...ʼ

Sylas brought out a booklet.

**[Introduction to Geomancy (F+) (Secret)]**

The only requirement of this booklet was to have some level of Earth affinity, and Sylas had that.

A flood of knowledge entered his mind, and soon he was nodding to himself.

It had to be remembered that Aether Stones were once normal rock. Much like how diamonds were compressed into their form by the pressure of the earth, Aether Stones were the product of stone being in the presence of pressurized Aether.

This forced the Aether and the stone to fuse into one, resulting in these crystalline, shimmering rock formations.

However, this made it more difficult to just use Earth-type Skills or abilities to deal with these stones. That was because the Aether neutralized much of the inherent character of the stone. It would take a lot of skill and talent to use Earth-type Skills on these sorts of stones anyway.

The ability was so rare that even this F+ booklet had cost millions of coins. Luckily, that price was nothing to Sylas thanks to Tasiaʼs efforts.

Sylas raised a foot up and stomped down hard. **BANG!**

There was a rumble, and a ripple spread out in all directions. Of course, this wasnʼt a ripple caused by a fracture in the earth, but rather the resonance of a pulse of Aether. Sylas was using a geo-locating method mentioned in the booklet.

The booklet was only an introduction, so it only spoke about three things: identifying Aether Stones, finding mines, and assessing the mines you found.

ʼOh? This is good. Itʼs deeper than I can reach...ʼ

Sylasʼ skin bloomed with black scales, and he raised his foot, stomping again.

**BANG!**

This time, the reverberating clash ran far deeper.

ʼGood. I can finally sense Common Aether Stones, thereʼs even a line of Bronze Aether Stones, and I still havenʼt reached the end.ʼ

After seeing this, Sylas made a decision and turned to leave.

Mining this with a mere introductory booklet was far too dangerous. The eruption of a mere Fragmented Aether Stone had killed Demons with decently powerful bodies. What would the eruption of a Common or higher Aether Stone do?

Instead, Sylas planned to return to Cassarae to retrieve the Basilisk Skin Armor; only then would he come back here.

He would then use the Basiliskʼs evolution to drain the topsoil Aether Stones.

Once they were nothing more than normal rock, there would be no danger in chipping them away.

Depending on how much the Basilisk King took, he might be able to get down the Bronze Layer immediately and check again.

ʼJudging by the sheer thickness of the Fragmented and Common Layers, thereʼs almost certainly a Silver Layer. But whether thereʼs a Gold Layer is still up in the air... Luckily, the lower Layers tend to be much thinner. So after clearing the top, it will be far easier to confirm.ʼ

...

Sylas returned to the System City and took Tasia and the family of three along with him on a trip into the desert.

The peacock could at most carry one other person, so instead Sylas splurged on a few FF+ Level 30 Mounts that were adept at moving across troubling terrain like sand. Each had a Speed and Dexterity Limit of over 1500, and that made things far more convenient.

It wasnʼt long before Sylas had found the location Alex told him about. The group didnʼt hesitate to enter the Portal.

The location was an icy land that was quite familiar to Sylas. This was the very same region he had found the Frostbane Sylph Dungeon in, and also the home of the Arctic King Beasts. This also happened to be the location of a Portal back to his hometown. It would just take some travel to get there.

But he was also aware that his alma mater was in that location. And the reason that was important... was because it was also the stomping grounds of Legacy.

Depending on how things had changed, he was going to have to be cautious. But first, he would pick up his fellow professor, Morgan, along with Sunniva. Luckily, that process went much smoother than Sylas thought it would.