Genetic Ascension

[400 PSs bonus]",

His Aether… when he activated Aetherflow, his telekinesis became a perfect extension of his body, and as such, his Aether flowed freely within it. However, because he was controlling three daggers, his Aether had flooded into them. The daggers were unable to handle his Aether and actually exploded under the pressure.

'Aren't they treasures…? How are they unable to handle Aether?'

Now that Sylas thought about it, he had never tried to pour Aether into his weapons. The only analogous ability he had that was capable of doing something similar was Blade Aura. However, he was unable to project his Aether out of his body, at least not without a Skill as a conduit…

That was until he mastered Aetherflow.

Regardless, it seemed that treasures weren't able to withstand Aether. Or, at the very least, not treasures of this level.

'It might also be that I poured way too much Aether into it…'

He was used to having pitifully low Intelligence, even Cassarae commented on it. It's possible that he had just gone way overboard.

"Hm…"

Sylas walked over to the basilisk corpses and pried its jaw open. With a punch, he knocked out some of its teeth. By this point, his Strength was almost near 90, and with the +10% of his Scorned Wraps, his Constitution was near 80. He didn't find these things difficult anymore.

He lifted a tooth into the air with his telekinesis and sent it flying a good distance from him. When it was about 10 meters away, he activated Aetherflow once more.

BANG!

Sylas frowned as he dodged tooth shards. Although he tried to ease his foot off the gas pedal, he realized that there was actually no stopping it. The basilisk had over 80 Constitution and yet its teeth couldn't withstand his Aether at all.

Sylas really didn't want to ask the Madness Key. Now that his Genes were actually showing up as stats again, every question would mean a loss of five stat points. That was way too much to bear, given he was still in the middle of a dangerous situation. If he wasn't worried about his concussion, maybe it would be worth it. But right now, he needed the greatest advantage he could get just in case he was sluggish in other ways.

He shook his head. 'I don't have to understand this immediately. I only have one dagger left now, anyway. What good is it? When I leave, I'll gather 20 Common Genes in all categories as quickly as possible.'

There was just one other thing that Sylas first.

If his Aetherflow Gene talent caused these sturdy weapons to just implode on contact… then how strong did it make his fists?

Sylas leapt back and steadied himself into a boxing stance. He dropped his and twisted his back foot hard as he unleashed a fist.

He stood in silence as he watched the result. After a while, he nodded to himself and walked away. His destination? The pair of dots on his map.

After Sylas left, the basilisk corpse slowly rolled over, revealing a clean hole that went right through its pristine scales. Blood was splattered in all directions as the beast settled into its final resting place.

…

Sylas moved like the wind. Even when he came across an F ranked Basilisk Minor, it took just a single fist to crush them. Their best Constitution was around 70, while his Strength was already near +20 of that. He had an over 20% advantage that couldn't be overlooked.

Much like all Gene Talents, he couldn't use Aetherflow continuously. He could feel a fatigue overwhelming him when he tried, but he also didn't need to. His stats were overwhelming.

His Will shrugged off their telekinetic attacks, his Strength overwhelmed their Constitution, his Speed was so far superior to theirs that they almost seemed to move in slow motion in comparison to him.

'I'm coming up to them soon…'

Sylas stepped over another snake's corpse.

The duo was closing in on a BOSS room. From what Sylas could tell, they had yet to find even a single one. Every time they killed a basilisk, they would take their time to recover before moving on to the next. They seemed to be the cautious type from this alone.

'Their formation is also staggered. One of them is almost always the vanguard while the other flickers forward from time to time, and then retreats again. I would assume that whoever is at the helm has superior defensive abilities, and likely has Skills tailored to this in specific. That could be a troublesome opponent.'

Sylas' thoughts gathered the information he had on hand. He was more cautious approaching these two compared to the basilisk's because he had no idea if any of them had a detection Skill as good as Olivia's.

So, rather than trying to sneak up on them, he went for the opposite approach.

Overwhelm and suppress.

…

The moment Sylas shot out from around the corner, Brant and Aria were completely taken aback, but they reacted with the grace of two that had already suffered through many battles. Though they were still in the middle of a battle with a basilisk, they didn't panic. Instead, they both began a slow and steady retreat, warily watching Sylas' approach.

Sylas, however, had no intention of taking the slow and steady route.

---

[Brant—]

---

Sylas' attempt to read the stats of the two was rebuffed by a glow of Brant's shield. The reaction speed of the shield man could be said to be excellent.

'It's not automatic. He activated a Skill to block me. But I feel that while it's active, I can't try again. It'll be useless.'

This realization didn't slow Sylas down. He suddenly felt a probe at his mind and he activated Madness instinctually.

They weren't the only ones with the ability to block probes.

At the same time Sylas activated Madness, Brant stumbled back as though something had just impacted his mind while Sylas aimed his Madness at the basilisk.