Genetic Ascension

'This is consistent with the first Dungeon I entered. These minion-type monsters will only provide one type of Gene, but the BOSSes should provide multiple, and thus will give me a better chance of getting exactly what I want.?",

'If I keep using this strategy, clearing out the mobs will be easy enough. I would only have to tire myself out facing the BOSSes themselves. In that case, I can be more bold with how I approach this and clear out the whole maze.

'I'll still with this optimal path for now. It's still possible that the BOSSes will be too much for me to handle. I can double back later if things go well.'

With that, Sylas took his time, collecting one minion corpse after another.

Luckily, because he didn't really need to worry about Aether consumption, he was able to raise it to a five cubic meter size. That was the equivalent of the current Sylas draining his Aether around 18 times… if he didn't have <Maddened Enlightenment>, that is.

With it, he could replenish his Aether even while walking in a little under five minutes. If he redirected the Aether flow from himself to the ring itself, it only took less than an hour and a half to bring it to that size.

And, since it only lost 20% of its size every day, Sylas only needed to invest barely a quarter hour a day to keep it at its current size.

Thanks to this, he had more than enough space to store these carcasses for now. It would have been more useful to use the Madness Key, but until he found a method to keep its Hunger in check, this was just going to have to be the way from now on.

**

Outside the Dungeon.

"These damned snakes, why the hell are there so many of them?!"

"You know why, there's a Dungeon nearby."

A group of four walked in formation. At the helm, a man wielding a round shield wrapped in leather took the vanguard. His Aether spread out and expanded the range of his defenses.

To his back, there were three spear wielders. The group was formed of two men and two women, and their teamwork seemed to be decent. At the very least, the snakes, even with their larger numbers, were unable to penetrate their ranks.

The defensive shield of Aether didn't seem to block the attacks of the spears at all, so they moved forward unfazed, relying on their anchor to press forward.

Soon, they came across a group of five meter long spitting cobras and a more substantial battle broke out. Even so, it was only a matter of half an hour before the battle was through.

"You know the rules: keep the corpses fresh in the team storage ring. Once we get some decent Gene State Elixirs, we'll have a go at it."

The shield man spoke blandly, more so out of formality.

"You're sure this is it?" One of the women said, looking at the Dungeon ahead. "The informant said it would be much harder to make it to this point, so why was it so easy?"

"Can't fake a Dungeon, now can they?"

"Who knows what that informant can do? They're raking in all this cash, just sitting on their asses all day. They obviously have no fighting power or else they would be gobbling up all these opportunities on their own. They probably just don't have a good measure of strength," the other woman replied.

The group seemed to accept this answer and were taking a small break before the shield man cursed.

"Fuck. This Dungeon has a two person entry limit."

"An entry limit? What the hell is that? I've never seen that before," the second man responded.

"Well, it's right there. Look for yourself."

"Holy shit, a double F plus Dungeon?" The first woman cried out.

"Something's fishy here," the shield man frowned. "The informant didn't say anything about an entry limit, also didn't say anything about this dungeon being so strong, either. What's the catch here? The price we paid was heavy, but not heavy enough for this."

The group fell into silence.

"Retreat?" The second man asked.

The silence turned to faces of hesitation. They all knew the value of a Dungeon. It was the easiest and most systematic way of gaining Genes. And they also almost always had Gene State Elixirs, probably the most valuable commodity in this world now.

"Roll for entry."

They spoke at the same time.

**

Sylas pressed his back against the cool stone. He had gotten used to going around shirtless these days, but he felt that he should probably get some real clothes at some point. There had to be items out there that could enhance his stats but wouldn't be considered to be armor by the Scorned Wraps.

His dagger suddenly moved in a blinding flash, killing another minion.

'I can definitely use my Madness for much longer periods of time now. If I was in the same situation as before, I would have already run out and been forced to use <Maddened Enlightenment> more seriously. But I guess that makes sense. Since I'm not spilling out the influence of my Comprehension everywhere, it's taking less of a toll on me.'

Sylas put the carcass away after double checking that it was still only giving Intelligence Genes.

'I'll fight the next minion. They should mirror the abilities of the BOSS to some extent, so it'll be good to prepare.'

With that thought, Sylas followed the path set by the Dungeon Map and swiftly found the next minion. This should be the last one before the BOSS. It was also convenient to fight it because there were no other threats in the immediate area. He had already cleared them all, while the BOSS was unable to leave its designated area.

---

[Basilisk Minor (F)]

[Level: 3]

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[Physical: 52]

>[Strength: 73]

>[Constitution: 75]

>[Dexterity: 32]

>[Speed: 30]

[Mental: 49]

>[Intelligence: 72]

>[Wisdom: 8]

>[Charisma: 67]

[Will: 41]