Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1315: Fluctuating Leaderboard

It wasn’t difficult for Sylas to tell who they were. They were more than likely Raul Gorak, number 17, and Riusar Vekius, number 9. This wasn’t just because he felt Torin Kael, number 3, would take the longest to appear, but because he had gotten more of a feel for how strong they should be by observing from afar.

The thing was, though... it didn’t really matter which of them it was.

Raul and Riusar looked like a pair of brothers. They came from a race with particularly large hands and forearms, something that should have looked out of place on their bodies but somehow just... fit.

Their skin was leathery to stony depending on the section and how the sun hit them, while their eyes seemed to sink into their skulls, their forehead’s bone practically forming an overhang that shaded them from the sun.

”Holy shit, a pair of Neanderthals in the flesh. This is embarrassing, I wasn’t planning on meeting the grandparents anytime soon,” Alex said, a bit flushed. ”Listen, I know she’s naked, but we really didn’t do anything, I promise. I would never disrespect my future wife like this. But this guy Sylas? Between you and me, he’s always had a temper and has no idea how to treat the fairer sex.”

Raul and Riusar both looked toward Alex, an aura that nearly shattered the latter’s knees falling over him. Luckily, it was Old Brama that appeared to save him from a terrible fate.

”How about less talking if you don’t have the strength to back it up?” Brama hissed in his ears.

Truthfully, as powerful as the old man was, he wasn’t comfortable with being here at all. There were certainly countless in the Sanctum more powerful than him, although he was confident in putting his Rune Mastery up against anyone.

The trouble was that with the path he had chosen to take, after pouring so much money into Andromeda, the money he had left over to outfit himself with what would allow his greatest strengths to be displayed was highly limited.

It could be said that Old Brama was at maybe 5–10% of his actual strength output potential right now, and there was little they could do to fix that unless they dismantled Andromeda and used it for parts.

Whether it was Old Brama or Sylas, though, neither wanted to see that.

”What do you mean?” Alex said with a bright smile. ”I have you and Sylas.”

Old Brama almost wanted to knock Alex’s head off his shoulders.

”Who are you?” Raul growled, standing to his feet. Seemingly carrying the arrogance of a Sanctum disciple, he faced off against the C-tier as though he might leap into battle with him instead. ”Outsiders aren’t allowed in the Sanctum.”

”Actually,” Alex coughed, ”this isn’t technically the Sanctum, it’s just the gathering hub—read your rule book for once. And second, I’ve already told you that Psycho Syl over there isn’t very patient. Or is it that you’re scared to fight him and want to find an excuse to delay?”

”Scared?!” Raul’s voice boomed. But before he could say more, Riusar placed a hand on his shoulder.

”I will go.”

Before Raul could say anything, Riusar Vekius, number 9 ranked on the F-tier leaderboards, landed on the platform. As enraged as the both of them were, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that anyone who could defeat Brenna with a phrase wasn’t someone Raul could face.

Moreover, there were large leaps in power the closer to the peak of the leaderboard you got.

The F-tier leaderboard underwent huge changes every year because no one spent much time in the F-tier to begin with. As such, it was widely variable.

Sometimes, those in the F-tier were just children. At other times, they were late bloomers that came from faint corners of the galaxy, only to be brought over by various elders and powerhouses. After all, Lineage Heads weren’t the only ones that could take in disciples. It was just that their disciples faced the hardest time for obvious reasons.

That was to say that at any given moment, number 100 on the F-tier leaderboard could swap out for two people of vastly different strengths as dozens ascended or dozens more were brought in from the outside.

That was to say that beneath a certain rank, an F-tier of the Sanctum could be as weak as lambs or as powerful as thundering mountains.

However, above a certain rank... it was a different story entirely.

The top 10 of the F-tier leaderboard—of any of the leaderboards, for that matter—was a sacred place. These people tended to be in a tier of their own.

The top three was an even wider gap.

And due to Scarval, number one of the F-tier had once been an even more shocking gap.

That was to say that to these people, Torin Kael... was actually the true number one of this generation. And Riusar would rather be beaten to hell than to let their pride and joy be lured out so easily if he didn’t have to be.

He growled, and his skin seemed to become more stony as he landed on the platform.

His Warlord Armor bloomed in rays of crimson, his eyes shining much the same color. He drew faster than even Brenna, but the tier of perfection was far higher.

While they were both at Soul Mastery, it was clear that Riusar was several percentage points higher. On top of that, both his First and Second Layers seemed to faintly touch the barrier to Essence Mastery, only to be suppressed back down a tier by his Third Layer being stuck at Soul.

Sylas watched all of this in silence, not saying a single word or even attempting to stop it. He took in every aspect, even until the final moment when Riusar placed his fists on the ground, his maw opening and a howl filling the air.

At that moment, a bombardment of Will slammed into Sylas in waves, cracking against his skin.