Sylas' blade slowly lowered, piercing into the rippling waters before him. They churned, their golden ripples becoming rings of white-green that spread out in a continuous hum.
The hidden world trembled at its very seams, and it seemed clear at a glance just what had happened.
A victor had been crowned.
[Destiny Quest Cleared]
[Winner: Sylas Grimblade]
[Grimblade Lineage (Gene) (Silver)]
[Blade Aura (Gene Talent) (FFF+)]
[Heir Decree (Key) (—)]
[Grimblade Inheritance (Secret) (???)]
One reward after another fell from above.
This was the first thing Sylas' gaze was drawn to, and he understood what it represented quite quickly. He assumed that with this, the Bronze City of the Grimblades was all but his.
Now, that would probably also require taking it away from the Grimblades, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be too difficult.
It wasn't that he felt this Decree would give him free rein, but rather that… he simply didn't fear the Grimblades. Even if they had an E-Grade expert, with his Grade Slayer Title, he had no reason to fear them—not when there was no way they were stronger than the Glassinox.
Although he couldn't suppress a non-Serpentes, being able to ignore the Grade difference would be more than enough if he wasn't dealing with a monster.
His intuition told him that the Grimblades, and probably most powers on Earth right now, had at least one hidden E-Grade expert. But…
Sylas looked at the Grimblade Lineage Unique Gene for a long while. Then, he nodded.
He plucked it out of the air. He could already feel his suppressed Skills returning to him. Now that the trial was over, there was no need for the system to continue testing them in this way. So, it was as easy as having the thought for him to press the Gene into himself.
The feeling of using Extricate to take in Genes rather than using the system felt just as euphoric as it always did.
Right now, his Silver Gene limit was just one. But, of course, with his Dual Class Constitution, he had the space for one more. And this could be considered to be his first true Silver Gene.
His current Silver Gene, Aetherflow, was formed from a Bronze Grade Gene Crystal of 200 Capacity. Although it was technically a Silver Gene, it was formed from a coalition of Bronze Genes, so there was bound to be some difference.
This, however, was a true Silver Gene.
Sylas' original Fragmented Grimblade Lineage Gene practically melted into his body, vanishing as its Silver version took hold, rooting itself through his body and soul.
Sylas paid attention to every single minor and major change that took place, feeling this Unique Gene he was born with more intimately than ever before.
The feeling was… special.
A Gene you were born with really did feel so much more different than one you gained after the fact. And because Sylas was experiencing both sides of the coin right now, he gained the benefits of both.
'I see… so maybe it isn't until you progress to the next Grade, compressing all of the Genes you've gained in the previous Grade into the depths of your foundation, that you truly experience what it means to make a Gene your own…'
Sylas was getting just the smallest glimpse of that now, and he could feel the fibers of his body rearranging themselves, his base stats changing and morphing.
From a 50-point Stat Limit, it doubled to 100 and then doubled again to 200. He realized then that the Grimblade Heirs had a much higher starting position than even he speculated. And in the end…
They still lost to him.
[Name: Sylas Grimblade]
[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]
[Class: Throne of Glassvolt Heir (Legendary)]
[Profession: Vipermancer (FFF+)]
[Titles: A Shaping Will; Palms of Fate; Grade Slayer; System Rebel; Legendary Tamer; Skill Progenitor; Classic Dungeon Crawler; Woodland Warlord; Glass Desert Warlord; Glass Monkey Slayer; Woodland Spider Queen Slayer; Madness Conqueror (FF-); Common Arts Enthusiast (F-); A Patient Stalker (F-)]
>[Constitution: 3,399]
>[Intelligence: 1,601]
Sylas finally stared down the Blade Aura Gene Talent. He wondered what it would mean to have two versions of this Gene Talent. Should he just try to study it and improve his Will Ability? Should he fuse with it and see what happened? Or maybe there was a third possibility he hadn't thought of?
With Extricate, whatever choice he made, he would have quite some flexibility to work with.
In the end, Sylas decided to directly absorb it. Why not? What better place to store it than inside his own body.
[Gene Skills: Cryobane Elevation (F-); Madness Control (F); Glassvolt Shift (FF+)]
[Gene Class Form: Glassvolt Prism Arts (F+)]
[Comprehensions: Madness (FFF); Mixed Martial Arts (FFF+); Glassvolt (FFF-)]
[Silver Genes: Aetherflow (F); Grimblade Lineage (F)]
[Gene Talents: Blade Aura (FFF+); Sudden Burst (F); Tail Whip (F-); Aetherflow (FF+)]
[Elevated Gene Talents: Arcane Storm (F-)]
Sylas took a breath, and he felt an odd surge of power, one that was even more potent than what he experienced from the Silver Gene. He couldn't quite understand why, even after thinking on it for several seconds.
It was only when that potent feeling of absorption was about to fade to nothing that he finally grasped an inkling.
'A resonance between mind and body… fascinating… this must be mimicking some higher form of what a Gene Talent could be, something beyond an Elevated Gene Talent…'
Sylas raised a hand and cut down slowly with the side of his palm. There was a ripple through the air as though a blade sharper than life was cutting right through it.
A line formed between Sylas' Will Ability and his Gene Talent, the two playing off one another, pulling from both his Will and his body at the same time.
Hints of fatigue appeared between his brows, but he realized then that his Blade Aura was easily ten times more powerful in this state.
He dismissed it, and with a wave of his hand, the Secret Treasure fell into his palm.
Then, he turned his attention toward Astrid.