Genetic Ascension

[Name: Sylas Grimblade]

[Species: Human (F)]

[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]

[Level: 0]

[Titles: A Flexible Will; A Patient Stalker; Little Madness Slayer (Dormant)]

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[Physical: 11]

>[Strength: 5]

>[Constitution: 9]

>[Dexterity: 13]

>[Speed: 17]

[Mental: 9]

>[Intelligence: 5]

>[Wisdom: 10]

>[Charisma: 12]

[Will: 36]

[Luck: 1]

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[Skill: Maddened Meditation (F); Little Madness (F)]

[Comprehensions: Madness (F)]

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[Gene State: Soft]

[Fragmented Genes: Grimblade Lineage (F); (2) Dexterity (F); (4) Constitution (F); (9) Speed (F)]

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[Gene Talents: Blade Aura (Mutated - Weakened)(-); Sudden Burst (Dormant)(F)]

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Sylas placed a hand on the corpse of yet another Madness Minion.

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[Madness Minion]

[Gene Detected]

[Fragmented Gene: (4) Speed (F)]

[Attempt Assimilation?]

[Yes] [No]

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After several battles, Sylas had confirmed that the venom had, indeed, had an impact on the Genes. All the Madness Minions he had defeated until now had four Fragmented Speed Genes. Only the first one had three. So that seemed to be the best explanation.

What happened next, though, caught him off guard.

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[Yes]

[Genetic Limit Reached. Please increase Level, change Class, or evolve Race to proceed]

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[Fragmented Gene <Grimblade Lineage> has taken effect]

[Soft Gene State Weakened by 10% for related Genes]

[Genetic Limit Increased]

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[Genetic Assimilation Starting…]

[Genetic Assimilation Triggered]

[Gene Assimilation Failed]

[Gene Assimilation Failed]

[Gene Assimilation Failed]

[Gene Assimilation Successful]

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'Genetic Limit… Increase Level… Change Class… Evolve Race… This will be a problem…'

Sylas hadn't thought about there being a Genetic Limit to consider, and even if there was one, he didn't expect that his own would be as low as nine. Didn't that mean that if he didn't have the Grimblade Lineage, he wouldn't even be able to unlock Sudden Burst in the future?

'Is nine the limit for all Genes? Or is it just Speed? If it's different based on Gene type, other than Dexterity, Speed was my highest starting Physical stat. Doesn't that mean I'm already close to my limit on Constitution, which started at almost half that of Speed?

'Maybe I can get other Genes that do similar things? Like the Grimblade Lineage is named differently, so maybe there's another "Lineage" that adds to Speed. Would it clash with the original Speed stats, or no?'

There were too many questions and not enough information…

Just like his grandfather had said it would be.

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[You have collected (10) Fragmented Speed Genes]

[Would you like to fuse them?]

[Yes] [No]

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Sylas took a breath and moved his intention toward [Yes].

[Fusion Commencing]

Sylas' body froze. The feeling was much stronger than it had been in the past. It was like countless ice cubes touching each one of his pores with pinpoint accuracy. And yet, somehow, it felt scorchingly hot everywhere else.

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[Fusion Complete] 𝗳re𝗲𝚠e𝐛n𝗼v𝗲l.c𝐨𝐦

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[Name: Sylas Grimblade]

[Species: Human (F)]

[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]

[Level: 0]

[Titles: A Flexible Will; A Patient Stalker; Little Madness Slayer (Dormant)]

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[Physical: 14]

>[Strength: 5]

>[Constitution: 9]

>[Dexterity: 13]

>[Speed: 28]

[Mental: 9]

>[Intelligence: 5]

>[Wisdom: 10]

>[Charisma: 12]

[Will: 36]

[Luck: 1]

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[Skill: Maddened Meditation (F); Little Madness (F)]

[Comprehensions: Madness (F)]

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[Gene State: Soft]

[Fragmented Genes: Grimblade Lineage (F); (2) Dexterity (F); (4) Constitution (F)]

[Common Genes: Speed (F)]

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[Gene Talents: Blade Aura (Mutated - Weakened)(-); Sudden Burst (Dormant)(F)]

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'It's worth 20 now,' Sylas thought. One Common Gene was worth 20 stats, that was a huge leap.

Although there were all these fancy numbers, and they were jumping across his screen now, Sylas remained quite calm because he remembered something quite important…

These were all relative stats.

According to what the Grimblades had said, there were six total events just like this one in the past, events where there might have been much less intelligent creatures taking part… but ones that were all far more powerful.

What Strength would a Tyrannosaurus Rex have had? What Speed would a Raptor have?

Forget about extinct creatures. What about creatures that were still alive to this day? What stats would the system give a Blue Whale? What about a Cheetah?

A Speed of 28 only meant one thing to Sylas: he was much faster than other humans, and that was all. In fact, because his Dexterity had begun to lag behind, he couldn't even maximize that Speed without activating Madness.

This wasn't the only disadvantage humans were at, either.

Because this was the seventh attempt of their world, they were basically dealing with the scraps. For example, Titles. The strongest Titles were ones related to progenitors, the first to do and accomplish certain things.

In the past, Sylas might have gotten a Title for comprehending Madness. But by now, all of those Titles were gone. The easiest boost to stats in the early game had already been used up by the former failures of Earth.

He had to maximize his time in this dungeon or else he would only fall further behind these creatures.

After another bout of meditation, he approached the BOSS. It didn't seem like there were any other Madness Minions to take advantage of. Near the end, he had formed a pretty good system for himself.

With his Speed increasing, it was easier to deal with the wild movements of the snakes. In addition, he had realized he barely had to use Madness for a few seconds for them to lose themselves for several minutes. Due to that, he could slowly find an opportunity and strike.

Essentially, he had bided his time and waited for them to tire themselves out. One snake had died, quite literally, of exhaustion. Its heart had given out.

It made Sylas realize just how dangerous Madness was. What if he used it on humans? Could he snap them out of it before they died?

He had tested that out and water seemed to work quite well, but only if he had activated Madness for a short enough time. If he held it for as long as he had against Little Madness, even driving a spear through their brains wouldn't wake someone up.

His eyes landed on the snake.

It was much smaller than Little Madness had been, ironically. It was a sleek black color with sporadic violet scales that popped with color from time to time.

It was about four feet long, or just over a meter. This told Sylas all he needed to know. It was likely another speed type.

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[Middle Madness]

[Level: 0]

[Physical: 42]

[Mental: 7]

[Will: 11]