Genetic Ascension

[Bonus champter thanks to Bryson_Clark <3]

Sylas looked at the orb for only a moment before he turned his gaze to look into Boradora’s eyes.

“Are you under the impression… that I fear your threat?”

In that moment, Boradora felt as though Sylas’ voice was unlike any man’s she had ever heard. It was deep, though not the deepest. It was calm, but it had a hidden edge to it that reflected across those equally calm eyes. It was soothing in an odd way that made you jolt, fearing that you might relax so much that you could very well lose your own life in the very next moment.

It was a voice laced with confidence, indifference—a complete disregard for threats she had made or could make.

Sylas hadn’t summoned his crown of broken, bloodied swords, but at the moment, he embodied a Primus Imperium far more than any story, any legend, any random stray thought Boradora had ever had.

She could only describe the simple words with a single line:

Suffocating.

Her breath hitched in her throat, and her Will threatened to wane. She had never felt so small in her entire life.

Maybe she wasn’t the very best the Ouro had to their name, but she was still amongst the top five talents of this batch of F-Grades they had produced. She had pride of her own, and she had hoped to use this trip to close the gap between herself and that man… Only to realize that there were far more races to run than just that one alone… and just as many runners on the track.

Sylas’ hand trembled just the smallest bit, and the hydra behind him roared once more. In reaction, the hydra that adorned Boradora’s hair shrank back, their Wills waning as though flickering flames in the wind.

Escape.

There was no fighting this man. They had to escape.

Boradora didn’t even realize that the moment she made this choice, she had lost the right to participate in the race she had always been so keen on. And in her lifetime, those lofty tiers of Will were ones that she would simply never achieve.

A pulse of radiance came from the orb she held, and in a flash, the Ouro were all gone. The Boros that they had fused with were likewise nowhere to be seen, likely dragged out along with them.

Sylas didn’t move. He knew that he couldn’t stop this.

As powerful as he was now, he was painfully aware that he could only exert this level of power and control because these were F-Grade worlds formed by F-Grade Runes. This was also why his Will could be Infinite here.

The Will in that orb was beyond the F-Grade. He couldn’t exert as much control over it. Although his own Rune Mastery and Wills could exhibit prowess of the E-tier, this wasn’t comparable to what he could do in the F-tier. His E-Grade Rune Mastery was barely at Flesh Mastery now—and that was a breakthrough he had only just had. How could he exhibit the prowess of a Perfect Spark Master with it?

But it didn’t matter.

It was impossible for Boradora to alert others of where the staircase was now, because after Sylas used it, the location would change. Her threat was mostly empty unless she was actually here to weather the storm and stall his chances of entering the second floor.

But since she hadn’t dared to do this, the information on the location of the entrance was worthless.

What was more important was information on who one of the Primus Imperiums was. But… Sylas also didn’t give a damn about this.

If he ran into another group now, would they just sit idly by and let him escape? He would be trapped into a Quicktime Event with them no matter what.

All in all, the moment Boradora ran away was the moment she failed to maintain a semblance of control over Sylas.

The only real shame was that Sylas didn’t get the chance to study them as much as he had hoped to. That said… Sylas looked at the hydra above his head. The remains of the Boros and Ouro fusion he had just killed were still here. Maybe there would be a way to see through them a bit more by studying those Runes.

Surprisingly, they did have Gene Locks that went far deeper than their Gene Layer, and even went down to the Race Quintessence itself. But they were splintered and broken, almost as though worn by time. This was how Sylas was able to exert a level of control over their Blood Essence.

While Boradora believed his Infinity Dao was limited because he had a fragmented understanding, the truth was that it was only a poor reflection of his understanding because of these Locks.

He had only just had the thought when he finally read his notifications.

[Quicktime Event Cleared]

[Congratulations on being the first to find the entrance to the second floor] [System-Wide Message]

[Primus Imperium Sylas Grimblade has left you far behind]

[Rewards]

[Reaper Sealwright (1/3)]

Sylas stared at the rewards for a long while, his eyes focused. Despite seeing the System-Wide Message, he hardly reacted to it. He didn’t care that there were certainly others running to find the new spawn location of the entrance as well.

He just didn’t give a damn.

Whether they made it or not didn’t have anything to do with him. He was confident that he would be the last one standing no matter what. Plus, he still had to find the second Primus Imperium. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible for him to receive that maximal award.

Now, seeing this reward right before him, even if he wasn’t already insistent on receiving those top-tier rewards, he certainly was now.

That was because unless he could do this… there was no way he would get the final third of this reward. He was as sure as the Luck pinging him right now.

Sealwright.

He had heard of them. They were simultaneously the most important and the most mysterious Profession in all the universe.

Sealwrights were the reason for the existence of Gene Locks.