Genetic Ascension

Chapter 556: Sparking



[Scorpion Warlord (???) (Inheritance Crystal)]

[???]

There was no other explanation, as though all the information about this item had been wiped from existence. Maybe it was a surprise that he got a name for it at all.

In the end, he had to ask the Madness Key about it.

[What is an Inheritance Crystal?]

[Inheritance Crystals come in two forms: Complete Inheritances and Partial Inheritances. Partial Inheritances are often tests, seedlings that an expert might spread throughout the universe in order to find worthy successors. Complete Inheritances are most often left behind by dead experts and are the rarer of the two. An expert is unlikely to hand out their full Inheritance without testing the character of their student first.]

-

When Sylas saw this, he was almost 100% certain that this was a Partial Inheritance.

This statue was left to the Dogons and had been studied by what was likely quite a number of people. It was more than likely a test or the first hurdle for becoming a student of whoever was in the background. Or...

It was a form of control.

Sylas was instantly very wary of this crystal, and his next question confirmed it.

[What are the dangers of Inheritance Crystals?]

[Some Inheritance Crystals have no lingering danger at all, some may immediately kill you if you circumvent their requirements somehow, and some might only show their true colors after centuries of usage.

The danger is ultimately dependent on the temperament of the expert that left the Crystal behind.]

Sylas sighed inwardly.

If it was based on temperament, and his assumption that whoever left this statue behind was the same person who turned Earth's Runes into a cesspool of cancerous garbage, then the answer was all too obvious.

-

[Who can I use this Scorpion Warlord Inheritance Crystal and avoid all latent dangers at the same time?]

[–]

[Cost: 3 Silver Genes]

Sylas' gaze flickered.

Did it hurt that the answer he needed would cost three Silver Genes? Definitely. In fact, the answer itself might be even more expensive depending on what resources he would need to gather based on the reply.

However, the fact there was such a reply left him with elevated spirits.

He needed to gather 10,000 Silver Genes for the sake of saving Earth from its Fate and completing the Summoning without the help of System Cities. If he was going to need to go so far anyway, what was three Genes to such a shocking number?

Careful not to touch the Inheritance Crystal directly in case it triggered something he definitely didn't want, he wrapped it in his telekinesis and Aetherflow, pulling it into the Madness Key.

Sylas might not be sure of what was in the Inheritance Crystal just yet, but what he did know was that he didn't have to have it just yet to have benefited from it.

He had already memorized all 10,000 Foundations. The reason this was possible was that the Rune Mesh system was actually just formed of Runes with only about 20 or so Foundations. They were several orders of magnitude easier to draw than his current 60-plus Foundation Runes.

This Rune Mesh system could even be considered a simplified super-tier D-Grade Rune. The only difference was that the Foundations were connected by the mesh system and not just fused into a single Rune, where it would surely be much stronger.

Of course, Sylas' body also couldn't withstand so many Runes at once. There might not be a single F-Grade existence that could withstand it.

At least... that was Sylas' assumption.

All that mattered now, though, was that Sylas understood the first set of Runes intimately now. He finally well and truly comprehended them.

There were 100 total Runes to the Rune Mesh system: 68 for the limbs and 32 for the torso alone. The second layer was the linkages between them, and the third was a mesh that aided them to work together with greater ease.

Just completing the first layer would require dealing with 2,300 or so Foundations together.

This was well beyond Sylas. But...

Sylas' gaze flashed for only a moment before a searing headache threatened to force him to his knees.

He gasped for breath, pressing a palm to his forehead. He had forgotten just how drained he was in his excitement. There was no way that he could do what he wanted in this condition.

He sent a wary gaze around him, only to be surprised that there hadn't been any changes to the maze in a very long time. How long had he been focused on this task?

'Something's changed...'

Sylas walked to a wall of greenery, only for something shocking to happen.

The wall shrunk back.

Taken aback, Sylas took another step forward, only for the wall to shrink again.

When he took his third step, a hole appeared in the shrubbery.

Sylas couldn't help but wonder if this was a trap or not.

Bending his legs, he suddenly sprung forward at his fastest speed, a flash of red gold

appearing on his back for an instant.

He had already landed on the other side of the wall in a blink, but there was no movement at

all.

'It's scared. It can't be so afraid of me, can it?'

Sylas didn't have a mirror. If he did, he would have noticed that there was a blackened violet hidden deep within his green eyes. This didn't come from his irises but rather his flickering

Will hidden within.

His Will now carried a poisonous sort of aura to it. However, he wouldn't notice this for aNôv(el)B\\jnn

small while... that was because he was advancing too fast, so fast he actually began to slow down on purpose, worried that he would run into the BOSS before his mind had fully recovered. At that point, he might be throwing himself to an early death.

He took his time to circulate <Maddened Enlightenment>, and when he reached a certain

threshold of recovery...

[Title Upgraded]

[A Tangible Will > A Sparking Will]

[Your Will is truly one of a kind and has begun to forge its own Path. While immature and still

growing, it carves out its place in the world. Continue to forge it, young man]

[+50 Will]

[+50% Will]