Sylas felt his projection almost collapse, an attack on his mind almost shattering his Will completely. However...
This time the Madness Key really did interject, and the force that rebounded toward his true body was repelled away. Or, rather... it was greedily swallowed up by the Madness Key.
The eye froze, seemingly taken aback by what had just happened. It hadn't sensed the Madness Key. All it felt was like its power had fallen into a fathomless well.
And then it became very angry.
"You dare to blaspheme the Scorpion Warlord ?! Tell your master that if he wants to declare war, he doesn't have to ask twice!"
Sylas wasn't sure what the eye was talking about originally, but he managed to piece together a plausible story.
It was likely that the eye mistook the action of the Madness Key for a master that was backing him. As for war...
'Master of Serpents... if there is a Scorpion Warlord, maybe there exists a Serpent Warlord somewhere. Maybe it thinks this Serpent Warlord is trying to steal its secrets.'
Sylas wasn't sure how much of an effect the rage of this eye would have on him getting his Inheritance or not, but he chose to try and come to a diplomatic solution.
"I am not affiliated with this Master of Serpents you speak of."
The eye's roar continued to echo as it peered into what felt like Sylas' soul.
"You dare lie to me?"
"I do not even know of this Master of Serpents." Sylas continued calmly. "My world is in the middle of its Seventh Summoning. There are many matters of the outside world that I have no knowledge of."
The eye seemed surprised.
"Seventh Summoning...? That's impossible. No world in the middle of a Summoning could produce someone capable of opening this Inheritance. Even if you aren't lying, you must have received the sponsorship of the Master of Serpents, in that case."
"I have not. I just happen to have a Beast Master Profession tailored to the Serpentes."
The pupil of the eye constricted. "I see... that doesn't seem to be the case. But I have not heard of Beast Master Class capable of such precision and focused attention, unless..."
Sylas' heart skipped a beat. It seemed that he had still said too much even though he made an attempt to hide what he knew. He had even gone as far as to say Seventh Summoning despite the fact he knew very well that this was the Ninth.
"No... maybe I'm muddled..." the eye shook. "Regardless, this changes nothing. You are incompatible. Leave."
Sylas didn't reply, instead, raising a palm. There was a flicker and one of the Runes he had already comprehended from the statue formed.
He didn't pour any Aether into it, nor could he seem to, but it was still enough.
The eye seemed taken aback again, and then it hesitated.
Eventually, it shook its head again.
"Your talent is irrelevant. The core of what it means to be a Rune Warlord is in the very core of your spirit. It is located in your Will Manifestation.
"Your own Will Manifestation has already been tainted by the image of Serpents. You will never be able to reach the highest echelon of this Inheritance and I cannot afford to waste this on someone with no chance of becoming a successor."
"What is a Will Manifestation?" Sylas asked.
"It is part of what constructs who you are. Genes are only the surface. Beneath that are Gene Talents, and then Blood Essence. Beyond even that is Bone Essence, Comprehensions, Soul Constructs, and then finally, Will Manifestations."
Sylas was surprised once more. He didn't expect that he would find out what the further level of Extricate would target . If what this being said was true, then once he got Taboo Bond to Level 30, assuming it continued the process of unlocking a new ability every five Levels, he would be able to manipulate Will Manifestations as well.
Though, it was also possible that Extricate would never reach the level of being able to do so. Even if he could, who knew how long it would take to reach that stage.
Taboo Bond was Lv12 right now and it would take 800,000 Experience to get it to Lv13. It was by far his most expensive Profession Path to level up.
Unless he came into the control of several more Territories, conquering System Cities would never be easy. And even then, after making it to Lv13, he wouldn't be able to level up continuously anymore as the upgrade to Lv14 would likely cost 1.6 million Experience, whereas a System City only provided a million Free Experience.
Of course, Sylas actually did have quite a bit of Free Experience left over now. He had cleared hundreds of Demon Cities, after all, and each gave around an average of 10,000 or so Free Experience. But even then, that was only enough for about another two million or so.
Then, as though all of that wasn't bad enough, what would he even do with an Extricate talent capable of working on Will Manifestations? Would he separate his own Legendary Path Professions from himself just for the sake of his Inheritance?
Of course not. With how much potential his Legendary Path Talents had, that would be ridiculous.
Did he just not have a chance at this Inheritance, then?
Sylas' gaze flashed as he seemed to come to a decision.
"How about we make a deal?" Sylas asked.
The more he spoke with the eye, the more he understood that maybe this Inheritance wasn't nearly so sinister as he had thought. At the very least, it hadn't bared its fangs yet.
"Yes. In truth, even if you make me leave, I have no obligation of letting your Inheritance
"It would be foolish of you to keep it when you could sell it for so much." The eye said calmly. Clearly, it wasn't a fool either. But it was suddenly interested in what Sylas had to say.