Genetic Ascension

Sylas forgot about everything but the battle before him.

They said that there was something particularly primal that one could tap into when faced with a situation of fight or flight. Some told stories of mothers lifting cars off of their children, others told tales of entering a state of hyper-focus and adrenaline that fueled athletic feats they never thought possible...

Sylas didn't feel anything so mystical. All he felt was an intense drive inside of him, a Demonic sort of instinctual desire.

It wasn't one that he could explain properly, but it made his Will sharper, finer, more potent. BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ice Bolts fell from the skies in sparkling rains of blue. Mist filled the air as the heat and cold collided, obscuring clear vision of the battlefield.

It wasn't clear if this was Sylas' initial intention or not, but what was clear was that it didn't impede his own movements in the slightest. In fact, the billowing mist only increased the concentration of Ice Aether in the region, allowing Sylas' Skills to flow more smoothly than ever before.

When Sylas felt that the stage was adequately set, he pressed down on the Basilisk King's head with a foot and rapidly shot out, moving with such Speed that the Basilisk King's head was almost pushed into the ground from its once lofty position.

The Basilisk King, though, didn't miss a single beat, using its body and Constitution like a sledgehammer against their opponents.

Sylas landed on the ground in the midst of the carnage wrought by the Basilisk King's enormous body. A menacing light flickered in his eyes as he accelerated once more, grabbing a Fire Monkey sent flying out by its tail and whipping it toward another.

The two creatures slammed into each other before one burst into a rain of ash.

A flame more powerful than anything the volcano's heat could produce sprung upward and caused the second Fire Monkey to shriek. But it hardly mattered as the collision alone shattered all the bones in its body.

Sylas side-stepped the charge of a Fire Rhino, diving to the side as the Basilisk King's tail slammed into its proud horn.

The creature surely had powerful Constitution, but it was nothing before the Beast Totem buffed Basilisk King. Its horn pierced back and into its skull, and it died before it even finished gliding through the army.

More Ice Bolts were summoned from Sylas' Madness Key and he didn't seem to care how many he used up or wasted. They fell in an endless, perpetual rain, leaving larger and larger blooming platforms of ice in their wake.

PENG!

Sylas heard the howling wind before it even landed, but the Basilisk King had summoned a <King's Shield> and he cast right afterward.

The sudden, Aether-fueled lance that tore toward the pair shattered the Basilisk King's shield before stopping dead in its tracks at Sylas' own.

The two worked together seamlessly, and the attack of the snail that should have ripped through both of them was instead resolved with ease.

Sylas tore through the stragglers the Basilisk King missed while the Basilisk King itself was akin to a battering ram through the army, and soon, the Portal was within their sights. But by extension...

So too was the snail.

Or, rather, the Snail Queen.

[Snail Queen (Bronze)]

[Level: 41]

[Physical: 1453]

[Strength: 634]

[Constitution: 3999]

[Dexterity: 510]

[Speed: 669]

[Mental: 3999]

[Intelligence: 3999]

[Wisdom: 4027]

[Charisma: 3971]

[Will: 999]

Seeing the Snail Queen from afar and facing her might within dozens of meters was a completely different experience.

It felt like there was a veil permanently latched onto the surroundings, digging into one's very psyche.

It was a strong Charisma that made one want to bow in inferiority. And Sylas had no doubt that it was even stronger than what he was seeing through his...

That was because he was 100% certain this Snail Queen had a Comprehension.

Its name was different from the last time he had seen it, but it only seemed natural. It was no longer that obscure snail species, named by the scientists of Earth.

No... it had now become something completely different, something completely unique to its own.

The antenna of the Snail Queen shook and ripples spread out in all directions. Sylas felt the oppression on his mind strengthen.

His gaze suddenly sharpened and he sent out a palm at the same time.

BANG!

A clash of telekinesis rippled through the skies as an invisible tug of war shook the space. The heavy mist in the surroundings bent and twisted, becoming the only evidence of their clash.

Sylas sent out a fist with his other hand, commanding the Basilisk King to attack with an all-

Out swing.

Unfortunately, as easy as it was for Sylas to split his attention, it was even more so for the Snail Queen. At the same time as he was sensing new Fire Monkeys surge in from the surroundings, Sylas could also feel the Snail Queen conjuring up a defensive skill, all while it was still clashing with his telekinesis.

It was overwhelming. Especially when Sylas realized this was far from the only thing the snail was doing. It was still maintaining a Domain over the region, albeit in a much shorter range than earlier, all while directing some more finger details of the large army around them. Compared to the first time Sylas had faced off against this beast, it was truly akin to night and

Day.

However, in this realm of telekinesis...

Sylas refused to lose.

'Shatter.'

Sylas' Aetherflow activated. By now, he could already feel that this Bronze Unique Gene was lagging behind too much. It was still powerful, but it felt far too lacking when facing off

Against enemies like this.

However, the Unique Gene was one matter...

His Will was another.

CRACK.

The invisible clash suddenly solidified as fragmented Glass appeared in the middle of the air,

Looking as though reality had just cracked like thin ice.