Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1174: Rewards (11)

Sylas sat in silence, the two tomes in his hands. They continued to shake, and then they changed. But he hardly seemed to notice at all, his mind still lost in thought.

—

[Rune Breath Fundamentals (—) (Ancient Secret)]

The depths of presence and breadth of mass to carve out one’s stroke of greatness

—

[Rune Breath Fundamentals (—) (Ancient Secret)]

An echo of the past to form the strokes of the future

—

’Is there a third tome...?’

Sylas frowned. For some reason, he was very sure that there wasn’t. He didn’t know where that assuredness came from, whether it was the Pride Seed doing the talking like the little girl warned, or if his Luck was really just that potent with the effects of his Progeny Title stacked on top of it.

But regardless of all of that, he chose to approach it with the assumption that there was no third tome. In that case, what would he do?

In a rare moment, Sylas’ mind actually went blank. He had no solutions to something like this; he didn’t even know where to start—and maybe that was part of the problem.

The two clashing tomes, when their principles were used together, also seemed to clash in his mind, adding some dissonance to his Rune Spark Mastery that hadn’t been there before.

However, Sylas was able to ignore it, suppress it with his strong Will, and force it to act in his favor nonetheless. But he could see how this would be straining, especially if it was done by someone else.

Someone that lacked the flexibility of mind and strength of Will he did would certainly suffer.

’It’s not just that. The True Pride Seed is also helping—my eyes as well. They’re both acting to suppress it. So long as they stay far ahead of where my Rune Mastery is, I’ll be able to continue speed drawing and comprehending Runes in this way. But the moment they slip up, falling away... I’ll be forced to choose one or the other to use at a given time...’

For now, it wasn’t a problem. Sylas’ Rune Mastery had taken an enormous leap forward, and it was clear that the tomes agreed by evolving into something completely new.

However...

—

[Clashing Destiny Quests Detected]

—

[Lineage of Time: The Strokes of the Past and the Future]

OR

[Lineage of Space: The Depths and Breadth of Strokes]

—

Sylas looked at the Destiny Quests and shook his head, dismissing the notification and ignoring it.

How could he just pick one?

But that all but confirmed things. This Destiny Quest would be highly unlikely to appear if there was a third tome to take advantage of. It was forcing him to choose one or the other. And...

Sylas tried to open the covers of the tomes, only to find that they were sealed tight. This time, they hardly budged, almost as though they were clamped shut.

But there was very clearly no latch or anything of the sort.

It seemed that until he took on one of these Quests and completed it, the tome would refuse to open for him.

Sylas was about to shake his head again when his eyes suddenly sharpened.

”Can you swallow my own Destiny too before I accept it?” Sylas suddenly asked.

”... Maybe,” the little girl said slowly.

”Good. Do it. Swallow the Spatial Destiny Quest.”

”This... probably isn’t a good idea.”

”Do it,” Sylas said.

The little girl’s brow twitched. This was what they would call a very stupid decision, but talking a True Pride Seed vessel out of something was practically like talking to a brick wall. There was really no point to it at all.

And technically speaking, she wasn’t allowed to refuse him.

”What do you mean ’do it’, you idiot. You’re the one with the Gluttony Seed. You figure it out.”

”I’m sure you can have some input.”

”Just know I hate you. And it will cost you.”

Sylas had always found it interesting that there was a system notification pop-up every time he absorbed a Destiny Quest. That told him something he felt was quite obvious, especially after he noticed that the Madness Disciples had their own miniature system within a system as well.

Obviously, the little girl played a hand in facilitating the Destiny absorption, and that made it more flexible than normal.

The moment Sylas had this thought, he figured that this method might be possible.

”How much?” Sylas asked.

The little girl cleared her throat.

When Sylas heard this, he shook his head. ”Do it.”

Clearly, she was lying.

”Fine, fine. Whatever. When your brain splits in two and you end up a deranged lunatic, don’t blame me.”

”What do you mean by that?”

”You can’t afford it,” she sneered. But it seemed that she was happy with this outcome anyway. At least it would be more entertaining.

Plus, this Destiny was very delicious.

The moment Sylas saw the options fade and he triggered a notification for a Destiny Quest being thrust upon him, he opened both.

—

[Yes]

—

[Lineage of Time: The Strokes of the Past and the Future (—) (Destiny Quest)]

–

[Requirement]

[> Grasp Chrono Casting]

—

[Lineage of Space: The Depths and Breadth of Strokes (—) (Destiny Quest)]

–

[Requirement]

[> Grasp Spatial Casting]

—

Sylas’ eyes narrowed. This was the most bare-bones Quest he had ever seen—the both of them. There was no explanation; there wasn’t even a breakdown of Fragmented Completion to whatever level this was supposedly at.

It just said to grasp it.

”Hey, you know you still have two rewards left, right?”

Sylas ignored her. He wasn’t in a rush.

’The foundation of Rune Enlightenment laid down what I need for these things. ChronoCasting... Spatial Casting... what does this mean?’

Sylas had only just thought of the question when he thought of dozens of possibilities. He hopped between each one, feeling as though any one of them could be the answer, until he realized he could just try it.

However, as he was going to, he felt the Quests... complete.

That was when he realized... they were all the answer.

He dismissed the notifications, suddenly going on a spree of trying one after another until the Destiny Quests were so pleased with his performance their bodies themselves began to shake... quite literally.

It felt like Sylas’ notification screen had become jumping pop-up ads.