Genetic Ascension

[Name: Sylas Grimblade]

[Species: Human (F)]

[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]

[Level: 0]

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

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[Physical: 42]

>[Strength: 50]

>[Constitution: 49]

>[Dexterity: 19]

>[Speed: 50]

[Mental: 14]

>[Intelligence: 10]

>[Wisdom: 10]

>[Charisma: 22]

[Will: 44]

[Luck: 1]

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[Skills: Maddened Meditation (F); Little Madness (F); Middle Madness (F); Big Madness (F)]

[Comprehensions: Madness (F)]

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[Gene State: Soft]

[Fragmented Genes: Grimblade Lineage (F); (8) Dexterity (F); (4) Constitution (F); (9) Strength (F)]

[Common Genes: (3) Speed (F); (2) Strength (F); (2) Constitution (F)]

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

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Although he knew he couldn't put too much stock in these numbers, Sylas still felt a childish sort of satisfaction watching them go up. The fact he had to suffer so much through the assimilation of those Genes only made it more satisfying.

However, these stats were just a means to an end. Hadn't he defeated all of these BOSSes despite the fact his stats were lacking compared to theirs?

Granted, that was because of his Madness Comprehension, but a part of him still believed there were many factors this system couldn't take into account.

'Even so, I need to find a way to break these limiters. What if my Will caps at 50 as well? Wouldn't that make Madness useless against more powerful targets?'

He still hadn't forgotten that Big Madness managed to shrug off his influence somewhat, and that was after his Madness had reached Common Mastery.

When Madness was activated now, his Will was over 100 thanks to the 150% boost. But a creature with a Will of just 22 managed to maintain some clarity. There was obviously a bottleneck somewhere here that he wasn't aware of.

'Or maybe I've misunderstood Madness?'

Every time he deepened his comprehension of Madness, at least the two times he had, it seemed to require a lot of self-reflection. If the point of Madness was to drive others crazy, wouldn't his comprehension path have to be more general?

Now that he thought about it, activating Madness also gave him a keen sense of self that was arguably stronger than the influence he had on other creatures. His stats didn't increase, but they seem to… mean more, in a weird way. As though he could maximize every inch of them.

Then there were those telekinetic abilities he had gained. That was also a process of his own Will taking form rather than his just playing with the mind of an enemy.

'If that's the case, it makes sense… My ability to influence the minds of others isn't scaling because that isn't the point of the Comprehension at all… At least, it's not the main point…'

Sylas wasn't sure if this was right, but his gut was telling him that he was on to something.

Taking a breath, he exhaled slowly. He would have to explore this more. Without the barriers to study, he had lost his shortcut, though, so he would have to find another way or just take it one step at a time.

Unless…

He looked around. Between the various python corpses he had accumulated along the way, he had too many things to carry and yet no way of conveniently doing so.

Once he left this dungeon, he'd be stuck in the middle of the lake, and he would only have a short time to escape. Those animals that had been slumbering and in the midst of their evolution should have also long since woken up.

Simply put, he couldn't just carry hundreds of kilograms' worth of snakes around with him no matter how great his strength had become.

Without a choice, he kept only Middle Madness' mutilated corpse with him and was ready to leave when the screen appeared, sensing his intention.

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[You have Cleared Slithering Madness Dungeon (F)]

[Leave Now?]

[Yes] [No]

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Sylas paused. After some thought, his intention moved toward [No] just to see what would happen.

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[Your Madness is commendable]

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The screen glitched for a moment before it came back into sharp focus.

'What was that?' Sylas frowned. The so-called 'screen' was just a projection of his mind, so how could it glitch?

A hint of worry sprouted in his chest. This dungeon had messed with his mind a lot. Even during his comprehension sessions, he had done a lot of thinking about things that hadn't even come to mind in years. It was too weird.

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[Slithering Madness Dungeon (F)]

[Level Maximum: 0]

[Recommended: 100 Physical]

[Description: Lurking in the depths, high in the trees and on the forest floors, they are natural predators, unfettered and unbothered. So Scorned by the skies, they've been restricted to a life of crawling on their bellies. But their day to fall again is not far off.]

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Sylas' memory was excellent, and it could be said to be doubly so when his attention was focused on every detail. He knew that in a world like this, even the slightest mistake could cost him his life, so he directly glossed over the fact the recommended Physical had doubled. That wasn't the problem.

'But their day to fall again is not far off… That definitely read "rise" before, not "fall"… And scorned is capitalized now? What does that change mean?'

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[Your Madness has been Rewarded]

[>Scorned Wraps (Treasure)]

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[Scorned Wraps (Treasure)]

[A cursed treasure Scorned by the skies themselves. In its presence, your body cannot be adorned by armor, and your hands cannot be graced by weapons. The Madness is relentless and its fury Scorns the world in return]

[Curse Status: Cannot be unequipped]

[+10% Constitution to fists]

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Right then, a pair of what looked like long, dirty cloths appeared in the skies, slithering down toward Sylas, almost like snakes themselves. It seemed like they had once been a pristine and shimmering white, but were worn by dirt and dried blood over countless years of hardship and toil.

Sylas couldn't avoid them even if he tried.