Genetic Ascension

“This isn’t going to end well, is it?” Alex mumbled.

Jala looked at Alex, a hint of confusion between his brows. After all that talk about trusting Sylas and never doubting him, where were these words coming from?

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not talking about him, I’m talking about us. That barrier isn’t going to protect us, now is it?”

The realization hit Jala, his jaw clenching.

…

Dusk reached up, pulling his goggles over his eyes as a shimmering humanoid of Aether appeared before him.

He spread his arms out like he was conducting an orchestra, and all of a sudden it was like all the Runes in the world came to obey his commands, forming a series of formations that looked like… machine guns?

The guns pulsed to life and began to rotate.

Ta. Ta. Ta. Ta. Ta.

The rapid fire was almost too low in volume for the destruction they were ripping across the world.

The Knight formed of Aether brandished a shield, blocking this oncoming assault and taking a sharp step to the side. It seemed as though it had practically teleported, its body appearing over a dozen meters away.

It should have taken Dusk just a single step to turn and cover the change, however the Knight was somehow faster than even this step.

Dusk’s eyes narrowed as the Knight’s shield seemed to become the sheath of a great sword. Though it didn’t change size or shape, a blade was pulled out from behind it, appearing at Dusk’s neck in a flashing instant.

In the moment of life and death, there was a slight twirl of light in the depth of Dusk’s goggle’s right lens, the twinkle causing the machine guns to warp and collapse into one another.

‘Hm?’

Sylas felt something odd, looking up at Dusk for the first time.

That, just now… it felt a lot like his Weaving Irises, and yet not at the same time. He just combined a large number of Runes into one as though he had always drawn them that way.

Sylas hadn’t forgotten that he had gained his Runeweaver Profession from the well-wishes of a powerhouse. He still didn’t know who this powerhouse was or where they were from, but he had been looking out for information.

But…

‘No. It isn’t the same.’

The version of the Runeweaver Profession Sylas had was a weakened version because he refused the full inheritance. He had enough problems to deal with without having another monstrous existence he didn’t understand breathing down his neck.

He had a feeling that it was because he had this weakened version that what he felt was even remotely close. If he had the full Profession, maybe he would think it funny to even compare them.

Still, Sylas was curious. The fact they had some overlap was worth investigating.

He had the Profession, and the eyes, but the methods in which he used them were still too limited. Plus, it was a bit annoying he had to wear these sunglasses everywhere.

He wasn’t usually a fan of eyewear under normal circumstances.

The Knight was blocked by the sudden change, the guns morphing into a shield, and then into arms that wrapped the projection up and held it in place.

Chi. Chi. Chi.

The sound of skewering echoed through the silence as Dusk pulled out a gun of rotating gears from his side holster. Pointing it at the head of the trapped Knight, he looked up toward Sylas once again. But by this point, Sylas had once more stopped paying attention.

Dusk sneered and pulled the trigger, a flaming hole appearing in the head of the Knight.

Slowly, his Runes were retracted and the Knight fell to the ground, the exit wound of the blazing laser landing before Sylas’ feet. But once again, Sylas didn’t seem to have noticed.

Dusk didn’t get a chance to say a word before another hand touched the barrier. It seemed that everyone was hurrying to claim the dozen spots. There was simply no time to deal with Sylas first.

They had been waiting for the perfect team to be assembled, but if they weren’t going to get that chance, they didn’t want to be left holding the bag.

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This time, it was a woman who succeeded.

She had the most complex complexion Sylas had ever seen. It was a brown so dark and rich it almost seemed black, but lines of gold forming either perfectly vertical or perfectly horizontal layered on top of it.

It looked like these lines were tattooed on her after birth, most of them just barely elevated like a freshly pressed etching or burn. But Sylas could tell that these weren’t added after the fact. This was her real skin.

She had a beauty that came with this skin that was hard to describe. Unconventional and exotic to most, but captivating regardless of the audience.

The transition between her skin and clothing wasn’t very obvious either. It was hard to tell if she was wearing clothes at all if not for the distinct lack of obvious genitals. Whatever was covering her carried the very same deep, dark richness and golden lines, while not having the slightest apparent seam.

Her style of battle was just as seamless. She wielded a twin pair of golden katanas, each so long they dwarfed her body in height.

The Knight was sliced to ribbons the instant it appeared, and the smile on Dusk’s face couldn’t help but fade as a result.

—

[Name: Neyara Solune][Level: 50]

–

[Physical: 43 288][Mental: 21 333][Will: 41 111]

—

Her steps paused and she looked toward Sylas, her eyes narrowing. She could feel herself having been scanned just now, that uncomfortable feeling of being seen through by someone else.

However, after a long pause, she said nothing more.

Another member of Neyara’s Race took the third position, and the fourth, before another group managed to wedge themselves in.

Everything continued swiftly and in the blink of an eye, the eleven spots were filled.

But it was only obvious that many wouldn’t be satisfied, and the timer still had well more than 23 hours on it.