Genetic Ascension

227  Runes

Unfortunately, that excitement didn't last very long.

--- Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[Bronze Gene Crystal (F) (Treasure)] [One's Genetic Code is a universe within the universe. Endless and vast, the number of meandering paths it can take are uncountable. Use this Bronze Gene Crystal and begin to forge your own path] [Capacity: 51] [Cost: 100 000 (F) coins]

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This put two things into perspective for Sylas.

For one, Gene Crystals were shockingly valuable. He had only received his first out of a ridiculous Dungeon with 100 Physical requirement and a Level cap of 0. And he received his second out of a slot machine for the end of the grueling Trial.

It had to be remembered that even the best athletes on Earth would have a cap at 30 or so at Level 0. Only those in the Grimblades and families of the like would have a cap at and over 50. But even then, it was hard to say if they had a Stat Limit that high at Level 0.

Now, this Nexus was trying to sell him the weakest of Bronze Gene Crystals for almost double the money that he had. Even the one he had been disappointed in had a Capacity of 70. But this one was 19 worse than that and couldn't possibly increase his current limits.

Sylas shook his head. He would be better off finding power Dungeons to clear and hope that one of them dropped one…

When Sylas had this thought, his gaze flashed again. Couldn't he buy Dungeon Maps?

He had once gotten a Dungeon Map from Zurog, the head of Gnoll Village 019. If it could be dropped, maybe buying one wasn't impossible. Considering the danger involved, maybe they would be cheaper as well.

However, when Sylas pulled up the menu, what he saw was disappointing.

There were no descriptions, just a list of them demarcated by price and price alone.

The cheapest were only a few hundred coins, and the most expensive were several tens of thousands. The highest-priced one was 40 500 F Coins.

However, as Sylas had said, there was nothing else to differentiate them. Presumably, the more expensive ones were also more valuable, but there was nothing else to go off of. He didn't even know if they were near him or not. For all he knew, they were months of journeying from his current location.

Sylas shook his head. He had no reference for how valuable Dungeon Maps were, so he had no way of knowing if the price was even worth it.

If the 40 500 was a highly rated Dungeon that also happened to be within his capacity to handle, he would leap at the chance. But from this, he couldn't even tell if it was a Level 0 Dungeon or a Level 100 Dungeon.

It wasn't worth it.

Seeing that his path toward increasing his Gene and Stat Limits wasn't doing so well, Sylas changed gears again. This time, he focused instead on trying to find a method of solidifying his Comprehensions further.

'Maybe another Title Quest? Or maybe a Skill of some sort?'

Sylas wracked his brains, trying to think outside of the box. Sometimes the most useful things he found existed in places he didn't expect.

This Nexus had a wider array of Titles Quests to choose from, but none of them were impressive, especially not in comparison to Sylas' own.

Sylas remembered that he could also use Titles themselves to forcefully increase his limits at the price of pain, but there was nothing here that caught his interest.

There were many Titles that gave +1 bonuses, but they weren't worth the price. The best one he found was for a +5 boost to Constitution, but it was a masochistic method that required self-mutilation.

This wasn't an exaggeration at all. The Title was known as Sacrificial Lamb. Sylas couldn't see the exact details, but judging by the introduction, he would likely need to carve himself up like some sort of sick self-cannibalism.

The more he looked, the less likely it seemed that he would be able to find anything that he actually needed. Time continued to tick away, and Sylas couldn't help but frown.

'Alright. Let's switch gears again, then. I need to find a Skill that helps me to maximize Enchanted Scholar. That Level 15 seemed to have a similar ability and was able to use runes to directly attack, maybe I can find something similar…'

Once again, Sylas ran into a brick wall. There was no Skill of the sort, and he realized soon after that he was probably looking in the wrong place.

Skills were abilities that activated naturally with Aether. It circulated on its own. It didn't need the support of telekinesis or things of the like, so what he needed probably wouldn't be found in such a straightforward manner.

Sylas took a breath and settled his mind.

This world was so large, it was inevitable that the ideas he had for things would be unlikely to go smoothly. Panicking or wasting time being frustrated would only end up doing more harm than good.

'Let's take a more… roundabout approach, then.'

By the time Sylas found what he was looking for, he already had less than 30 minutes left on his timer. And as per usual, he found it in a location he least expected it.

What he needed was actually found in a Profession shop, something that hadn't been open to him before. But it seemed that now that he had a Profession, the system registered him as a person of this path. In fact, it also asked him if he would like to be listed on the Profession Leaderboard as well, something he likewise directly ignored.

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[Introduction to Rune, Rune Patterns, and Rune Geometry (Secrets)] [Limited Access: Rune Sight must be awakened] [Cost: 15 000 (F) coins]

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[World of Runes (Secrets)] [Limited Access: Rune Visualization must be awakened] [Cost: 30 000 (F) coins]-

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[Aether, Runes, and the Mind (Secrets)] [Limited Access: Rune Enlightenment must be awakened] [Cost: 100 000 (F) coins]