Genetic Ascension

This was the only thought he could finish before a snake jumped out from a nearby bush, its jaws opening wide.

Sylas couldn't even register exactly what it was. He just let his legs fall out from under him. With the pressure of Little Madness' weight on his shoulders, he winced. He hadn't had the time to brush the carcass off his shoulders and could only do his best to survive.

The snake soared over his head even as Sylas lost his balance, the python corpse tilting him to one side. He couldn't pop back up quickly, and his legs folded under him awkwardly.

Danger signs blared in his mind, not because he had awakened some magical sense for it, but because he knew he was screwed.

He had been paying attention to his surroundings because he knew it was foolish to assume that Floor Two would be the exact same as Floor One. He just didn't expect that he would be attacked so suddenly.

For all he knew, the snake that had just soared over his head was already doubling back, ready for round two, and here he was, pinned beneath a dead python.

'Focus!'

He activated Madness without even trying to look back. He knew that if he wasted too much time, he would be finished. He still hadn't recovered from his battle with Little Madness, so he only had a minute or so left. The regret of not finding a place to use Maddened Meditation first hit him. This was a new world. He always had to be near 100% so long as he could spare the time. What was he rushing to enter a new floor for?

With a grunt, he pushed the corpse off of him. Ignoring the dull pain in his right leg, he popped back up to his feet, whipping around toward where the sneak-attacking snake had gone. But he saw nothing but a line of trees.

He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean he didn't hear anything.

There was a wild thrashing in the grass and when Sylas approached it, he found a snake of a little under three feet long. Its tail suddenly moved wildly and slapped against a tree chunk, blowing a chunk of the bark off of it.

'So strong…'

Sylas had a lot of experience corralling snakes, but he gave up on any idea of that when he saw that tail whip.

[Madness Minion (F)]

[Level: 0]

[Physical: 27]

[Mental: 2]

[Will: 4]

'I'm running out of time,' Sylas thought, watching the snake wildly whip its body around without a care for its life.

His head spun back to the python's corpse. He was ashamed of the idea he had just had, but he really couldn't think of anything else. The experience with Little Madness had taught him that there was truly no chance for him to deal a death blow to these monstrous creatures. He needed something that could.

He picked up the head of the dead python, pulling it toward the thrashing Madness Minion. By now, the much smaller snake had made it into the small path of grass leading to the BOSS of Floor Two, making it much easier on Sylas.

The Madness Minion didn't understand anything that was going on around it, it just wanted to attack something, anything. And yet, it didn't have the wherewithal to realize there was prey right in front of it.

Sylas opened the jaws of Little Madness wide, baring its teeth for it. His green eyes never left the wildly moving snake. He knelt to a knee, his arm arching from holding up just the head of this monstrous BOSS creature.

He wouldn't have more than one chance. The time he had left could be counted in the few seconds. When it fell below ten, he could already feel the weight of fatigue pushing at his mind.

He knew what would happen if he pushed past his limit. He would truly fall into the Madness, and he would be no different from the snake before him. The difference was that there would be no escaping from him.

He pushed everything he had to the forefront, pulling deep as the snake got close.

'Now!'

The moment he moved, he knew he missed.

The "weapon" was too awkward. How could he use the jaws of a creature that weighed hundreds of pounds to deal with a creature that was a fraction of the size and far faster? It was the most foolish plan he could have come up with, but it was the only option he had.

He didn't know what would happen if he just tried to run away. Would he run into another beast? How many of them were in this forest with him? Also, what would happen to the snake once the influence of his Madness left it? Would it still be in range to chase him?

This much smaller beast had a weaker Physical than Little Madness, but its Speed was much greater. He didn't have a chance at outrunning it. And given the fact it could jump at his head from the ground despite only being over two feet long, he probably couldn't escape it by going up a tree either… not that he was even confident in climbing one.

'I'm going to miss…'

The swirl of thoughts hit him like a whirlwind as his Madness' timer fell to just three seconds.

His Will moved out in a flood, catching onto the wildly thrashing snake.

He wasn't going to miss by much. He could feel that it would only be by an inch or two. The weapon was too awkward and his Dexterity and Strength weren't high enough.

But that was when this moment aligned with another.

A moment where he had moved the shoreline of water back just enough.

And under the influence of his Charisma, Will, and Madness, the trajectory of the snake's wild movement shifted just enough that a single side of Little Madness' fang tore into its body.