Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1462: Angel Wings [1250 GT Bonus]

A squealing creature was skewered through by a trident, but its call was cut short by a burst of energy that splattered its body apart. Bone, flesh, and violet-tainted blood spewed in all directions except the one holding the man behind it, an almost furious sort of temper forming a wall of Will that made it feel as though even in death the devil-like creature didnʼt dare to blaspheme him.

”His temper doesnʼt seem to be the best right now.” A woman with a sweet smile as radiant as the Browning Gold spoke with almost a hint of delight.

On her feet, there were a pair of pink wings for each that fluttered along with her emotions, her body swaying from side to side as she stayed by the shoulder of Authrioneʼs cousin as though a little fairy.

Despite this touch of innocence, though, there was a split pupil that nearly divided her iris in two, flickering to life from time to time as though she was trying to suppress it. Their team likewise had ten people, but the lineup could be said to be truly shocking. This woman was the strongest of the Serpent Warlords. That already meant the group had not just one, but two of the 018 Sanctumʼs strongest Lineages.

And as one might expect, there was a man with a thick face of hair so dense it was hard to even make out if he had a mouth or where his nose started by the side.

And then even further behind him, there was a woman with two orbs of golden light in place of her eyes. She was slender, but her muscles practically bulged out of her sleeveless armor the way she stood with her arms crossed.

She had a particularly short stature as well, maybe barely four and a half feet or so. But the arrogance on her face and the strength of her posture told of a personality much larger than her frame.

All four of the strongest Lineages—Whale, Serpent, Ape, and Lion—had come together to form a single team.

And yet they all stood in silence as Authrione rampaged about on his own, venting his frustration on one enemy after another.

”Starell, why are you so insistent on buzzing around like a little fly?”

“I thought he was an emotionless brute. Who would have thought it only took a little loss to push him over the edge like this?” Starell grinned. ”Tell me, Lighza, you think heʼs more susceptible to manipulation now? Iʼve always wanted such a hunk as a boy toy.” Lighzaʼs expression became gloomy. ”My name is pronounced Lie-ja, not Liza. Manipulate it again and itʼll be my trident you taste instead of my cousinʼs. And second, if the Moon Clan finds out you try such a thing, we wonʼt mind sticking a fork in you.” ”Oo, Iʼm so scared. Your Moon Clan can do what it wants if it has a death wish. Youʼre the one reliant on the Sanctum, Iʼm just having a little fun on the side.”

Lighzaʼs eyes only narrowed, but he didnʼt respond. No one knew of Starellʼs real origins, but the problem was that... angel wings were an evolutionary quirk that very rarely occurred in the universe. And that was because everyone knew there was an extremely oppressive Gene Lock on them.

Gene Locks in their most rudimentary form were extremely common. But there were some Gene Locks so powerful that they pigeonholed the universe itself, not allowing worlds to let certain evolutionary characteristics bloom in the first place.

Angel wings were the mark of Gods—a very specific Clan of Gods that Lighza didnʼt even know the names of.

What Starell had couldnʼt be said to be true angel wings. But even bastardized forms like what adorned her ankles werenʼt things that would be allowed... Unless she came from a Clan that was immune to this Universal Gene Lock.

Now that... that was something they all very much feared.

Of the Serpent Warlords that had come, she was the only one of her kind, the other two being scaled humanoids of various types.

Starell pouted when she saw the lack of a reaction.

”Boo... 50 boring.”

She had only just said it when a nice notification came.

”Oh, goody. My hunk finally finished.” Her smile bloomed bright.

-

Sylasʼ eyes flashed open.

This was already the fourth world he had cleared, but he still hadnʼt reached Bronze Mastery in [Glassvolt Throne].

The irony was that while everything had become faster, because his Wisdomʼs Effectiveness had caught up with his actual stats, he was too easily able to use his Perfect Spark Mastery as a crutch.

Because he was relying too much on his actual comprehension of Runes, [Glassvolt Throne] wasnʼt the medium through which he was controlling things, so its progress had slowed significantly.

He had actually been making better headway when his Wisdom was lower even though it took longer.

That said, the rewards were truly shocking. It could be said that the Tower of Champions was truly living up to its reputation.

Although there was a very high bar to cross to make it to this point of entry in the first place, after you had done so, it felt like you were stumbling over gold bars everywhere you went.

After the Dew of Browning Gold, Sylas received an Aether Upgrade Elixir that actually granted an Aether of 94 Foundations, an orb capable of promoting a Mount to Legendary, and as though these things werenʼt shocking enough, the last... Was a Legendary Wisdom Gene.

Sylas looked down at the last reward he had received only just now, his gaze flickering. He hadnʼt spent so very long before he even laid eyes on his first Legendary Gene, only to have it taken away. The next time he formed one, he had to sacrifice the both of them to reform the foundation of his body.

And now, one had come to him on its own.

Sylas realized at that moment that the Tower of Champions wasnʼt just a place he had to speed run to get back to Earth in time, it was a place he could establish a foundation that would lead to his rise.

If he integrated this Gene with Extricateʼs help, his comprehension of Wisdom might just skyrocket enough for him to complete the evolution of [Madness Control] he needed.

At that point, he would no longer need the Browning Gold Elixir to maintain this state of sharpness.

But... there was a problem.

[Gene State: Malleable]