Genetic Ascension

Chapter 196 Subterfuge

[One-time bonus thanks to RolaySalt <3 3/3]

Sylas' heart skipped a beat. He felt an odd darkish red energy swirl around him and forcefully enter his mouth. But then it disappeared as though it had never been there.

His hand shot up to his chest and he felt a gloominess overwhelm him. He had asked so many questions, trying to cover all the bases he could, and yet something unexpected had still happened.

What was a Gluttony Seed? Would he have to feed himself with Destiny now, much like he had fed Genes to the Madness Key?

Sylas took a breath and closed his eyes. He didn't dare to ask the Madness Key about it, at least not yet. Sometimes he wasn't certain if he was dealing with the Taboo, but this time he was 100% certain.

This Gluttony Seed was definitely something that existed outside the purview of the system.

When he opened his eyes, he had already calmed down.

How many unexpected things had this world already thrown at him? If he collapsed every time this happened, it would be too much.

Sylas had no choice but to press those feelings down and turn his focus toward Enchanted Scribe.

'Seven Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Speed, and Wisdom. Fifteen Charisma… twenty Will Common Genes. There'll be a +28 to my Will and Charisma, and my Gene Limit will go from 20 Common and 1 Bronze, to 2 Bronze Genes…'

Now that Sylas could use Extricate, gathering the Genes he needed was far easier. He still had several Troll corpses, along with the bodies of the powerhouses that attacked Castle Main back then. Between them, he had more than enough.

He had been saving them because his Gene State was too low, and he also knew that the Madness Key would need a lot of support in the future. But there was no better chance to use them than now.

Soon, the Gene Crystal had been filled.

Sylas tilted his head back and swallowed the Flexible Gene State Elixir. He would have three chances at 65% odds, so the probability was in his favor.

He had enough Genes in his Madness Key for four attempts. Although he would have many extra Genes left over, the limiting factor was unfortunately the Charisma and Will Genes he needed, especially Charisma.

It seemed that the Human Race had trouble raising their Charisma.

'Before this, I wouldn't be able to use Extricate on a Bronze Gene, but…'

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[Path Quest <Rekindle Basilisk King's Pride> Completed]

[+1000 Experience]

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[Taboo Bond]

[Level: 3]

[Experience: 650/800]

---

[Path Talent: Extricate Lv3]

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[Extricate (Path Talent)]

[>Extricate <F-Rank Bronze> Genes]

---

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[One Kind For Me]

[Level: 4]

[Experience: 560/800]

---

[Path Talent: Beast Totem Lv4; Insight Lv4]

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[Beast Totem (Path Talent)]

[>Suppress <F-rank> Serpentes Beasts by <50%>]

[>Forms Hibernation Realm where recovery increases by <800%>]

[>Increase Fusion speed by <400%>]

[>Buff Contracts by <80%>]

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[Insight (Path Talent)]

[>Observe Gene Sequence of Contract]

[>Sense Evolution Triggers]

[>Comprehend Contract]

---

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[Were-for-the-Invincible]

[Level: 4]

[Experience: 300/800]

---

[Path Talent: Fuse Lv3]

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[Fuse (Path Talent)]

[>Fuse with your Contract and gain <80%> of their stats]

[>Fuse with <1> Contract at a time]

[>Fusion process takes <2 minutes> to complete]

[>Fusion lasts <120 seconds>]

---

Sylas shook his head when he saw this. He had simply forgotten to clear the Quest, so the Experience never kicked in, and he didn't gain the benefit of the bonuses they gave.

Such a foolish mistake, and it had made his attempt to save his life that much more difficult.

Suddenly, Sylas had more respect for those professional gamers that could remember every little detail of their favorite games and take into account every variable. Sometimes, the difference between players, especially in strategy games, wasn't obvious to a layman. Only those who were experts could feel the difference clearly, especially when it came to multi-

tasking and things of the like.

Sylas had never really been a gamer; he sought after discipline, so he avoided such indulgence. He never thought that there'd be a day when he regretted such a decision.

With a breath, he shook it off and began his first attempt. Slowly, he pulled at the Gene Crystal.

The first attempt failed. However…

A flashing echoed through Sylas' mind.

He didn't try to absorb the Enchanted Scribe Gene the normal way. Instead, he used Extricate.

The orb of light was much larger and much more complex than the others, and even when he failed, the broken insights felt like a rush of information into his mind.

With a burst, it felt like the sides had suddenly been painted by runes. They were vague and illusory, and he was certain that if he tried to reach out and grasp them, they would slip through his fingers.

However, when he looked back toward where the portal must have been, they seemed to explode in number as though they could only thrive in Aether.

Sylas subconsciously reached out with his telekinesis and solidified the flickering runes. They condensed beneath his might and suddenly bloomed in the world.

'Huh?'

Just as Sylas noticed something weird, the feeling vanished into the void. His grasp on the runes also vanished.

Sylas blinked, feeling a sense of loss.

He returned to that feeling in his memories, and he felt that in those moments, it was like his Charisma had changed in type, rather than increasing in quality or something like that.

The reason he felt that so clearly was because this was the same feeling that Voice of a King had given him. It was just that he hadn't felt it anywhere near so clearly until he used Extricate on Enchanted Scribe.

'Charisma has types? Does choosing one cut off the path to another?'

Sylas couldn't help but feel curious. Still, he had to make it back to Bloom and Mark's home soon and he couldn't just waste time standing around like this.

He immediately re-upped the Gene Crystal and tried again.

This time, Sylas could almost feel the success before it happened.

The orb was pushed into his body and the explosion that echoed through his mind was several times more violent.

Then came the rush and he saw exactly what he had missed before…

The runes of Earth were covered in subterfuge.