Sylas protected his eyes with a forearm, a tingling sensation spreading across his arm as goosebumps erupted across his body.
The feeling was very peculiar, because it felt like danger, and yet not quite like that.
It wasn't long before he felt what this mysterious feeling was coming from... something within the Basilisk King's body was warning him.
It didn't like his Profession, not in the slightest bit.
It was the first time Sylas had experienced such a thing.
In reality, he had faced Serpentes that were able to resist him before. After all, before One Kind For Me got to Level 10, he was only able to suppress Serpentes in part and not fully.
But right now, it felt different from that. Rather, it felt not like his Profession's Level was inadequate, but rather that no Level would be appropriate...
Not unless he could make the Profession truly his own.
The thought left just as fast as it came. It wasn't because Sylas was distracted by something, but rather because he had sensed something he probably shouldn't have.
The system opened the corner for just a moment before it was snapped shut. Then, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull the curtain back at all.
At the same time, the feeling of danger disappeared like it was never there.
Sylas wasn't to think about it some more, but he didn't have the luxury. The Basilisk King's aura was steadily growing and the large deposit of Aether Stone found itself being quickly sucked dry.
The process was so fast that several feet of the Aether Stone mine had already turned to ash, crumbling and being set flying into the air.
Though Sylas had predicted that the Basilisk King would need the support of this mind, the violence of it all was beyond his expectations. Absorbing such a large amount of Aether should have made the Basilisk King implode from the inside out. Just where was it all going?
And this was just the first of the Basilisk King Gene Locks. If just the first needed this much Aether, then what would the next need?
Something told Sylas that the Basilisk King would undoubtedly be by far the hardest of his contracts to raise.
The commotion was so great that it almost surely reached the surface. Large waves began to form in the lava, but Sylas could only stay pat, hoping that no one would think to come below.
The good news was that this formation left behind by the Sylphs should be on his side.
All of a sudden, it all came to a stop.
The vibrations, the undulating Aether, the pressure...
Sylas slowly lowered his forearm from his eyes, looking ahead to see what was waiting beyond.
His eyes couldn't help but narrow.
The Basilisk King lay there in silence, its body tightly coiled. But it had grown visibly smaller.
It had already been over 50 meters in length before, but now it was barely half that.
Its scales had regrown, but more importantly than that, there were several more lines of faint gold.
When Sylas first met the Basilisk King, it had had a brown array of bone on its head that formed a crown, and golden Runes covered its body.
After it was expelled from the Dungeon, it lost much of this. It had become almost a normal black snake aside from its shocking size and strength.
Now, some of that previous aura was returning, but it seemed to only be in part. There were some bumps on its head like its crown of golden bones might be returning in part, but it was a long way from a full reformation.
But, somehow... Sylas felt that its aura was several times more dangerous than it had ever been in the Dungeon.
If he had to compare the two, it was like the Basilisk King of before was a fake imitation, and though this version looked less appealing... it was infinitely closer to the real deal than that Basilisk King had ever been.
And then there were its stats.
[Basilisk King (Bronze)]
>[Constitution: 2999]
>[Intelligence: 2999]
Sylas couldn't help but stare at this screen for a long while in silence. The change was enormous, so much so that it was hard to even compare the two.
It didn't even feel like they were the same creature.
[Path Quest "Raise a Bronze King Beast" Completed]
[+2 500 000 050 Experience]
It had been a very long while since Sylas had acknowledged a Path Quest. He had completed quite a few on his journey, but they were so negligible compared to clearing Demon Villages and System Cities that he hadn't cared.
But this wasn't a reward he could ignore at all.
However, the amount was negligible.
If the Experience required to level up his Profession Paths kept doubling every time, and having as much as a 10x leap every 10 Levels like it had until now, two billion Experience was a drop in the bucket.
Even counting the Experience he would need in the quintillions probably wouldn't be enough.
Even now, it was something that Sylas didn't think much about because it would do him no good. But at the very least... this would be very helpful Experience for now.
If he strengthened the Hibernation Realm any more, he might be able to add Nosphaleen and the Glasirith baby to his team right this moment.
But things wouldn't end here.
[Path Quest "Rekindle Basilisk King's Pride" Completed]
[+1000 000 Experience]
[Quest "Sorrow of the Basilisk King (Silver)" Completed]
[Clearance Level: Silver]
>[Basilisk's Crown (Gene Lineage Form)]
[Basilisk's Crown (F+) (Gene Lineage Form)]
[Forcefully elevate all King Skills to F+ Gene Skill Tier]
This wasn't a Gene Lineage Form that Sylas could use. Rather... it was made specifically for the
Basilisk King. And now, whether it was , , , or
they could all be forcefully elevated.
But... this mirror of a Gene Class Form didn't seem to be so simple.
That was when it clicked for Sylas...