Genetic Ascension

[Threshold Reached]

[You Have Been Awarded: Tier Two Madness Disciple Rank]

>[Taboo Threshold Raised]

>[Madness Key Upgraded]

>[Scorned Wraps Upgraded]

There was a sudden glow in the space and the magma around Sylas was forcefully dispelled as a halo of light formed around the Madness Key.

At that moment, a second pair of bloodied wraps descended.

As though the past was replaying once more, Sylas had no option to dodge even if he wanted to.

But this time, rather than aiming for his hands and wrists, they instead moved to his feet and ankles, shattering apart the sneaker he was wearing while somehow leaving the Scorpion Warlord Armor unharmed.

The second pair of Scorned Wraps didn't stop until they were about halfway up his Achilles and carried the same air as the first.

Nothing, if anything at all, seemed to change, other than the fact that Sylas felt that his legs were oddly... supported now. He felt more support than he had from shoes in a long while.

In fact, most of the time these days, Sylas went around barefoot. The only reason he had shoes on now was because he had been around his family not long ago and he did it so that his mother wouldn't worry unnecessarily. After that, he hadn't bothered to take them off. Ever since his stats reached a certain threshold, normal shoes just couldn't help him. He wasn't the only one to face this problem, but unlike others, he couldn't wear treasures. But this wasn't just a matter of supportive footwear.

When Sylas gained the original Scorned Wraps, he had some boxing experience, but nothing that was worth writing home about.

Now, though, he was a seasoned warrior. He understood his body better than anyone else, so he could keenly feel the difference now.

It seemed that in the past he had severely underestimated just how much the Scorned Wraps protected his wrists. With how much power he passed through them every day, it was a wonder he had never broken them.

Subconsciously, Sylas didn't use kicks as often as he should in battle because he trusted his fists more. And now, he suddenly understood why.

He didn't just trust his fist technique more, but he trusted the support of the Scorned Wraps.

And now, his feet had them too.

Sylas' gaze flashed.

[Scorned Wraps (Incomplete Treasure Set)]

[A cursed treasure Scorned by the skies themselves. In its presence, your body cannot be adorned by armor and your hands cannot be graced by weapons. The Madness is relentless and its fury Scorns the world in return]

[Curse Status: Cannot be unequipped]

[+100% Constitution]

Sylas couldn't help but be shocked by the change.

He had been so focused on the details that he had almost missed the forest for the trees.

A surging power ran through him, and for the first time in his life, he felt what it was truly like to be buffed by a Treasure. The Scorned Wraps had gone from a "mere" flat 10% boost in Constitution to his fists alone, to a +100% boost to his entire body.

But what was truly shocking was that it was more than just that. The Scorned Wraps didn't seem to have an issue communicating with his Scorpion Warlord Armor and Aether skin at all. Because of that, his 1500 Defense soared to 3000, on top of the doubling of his Constitution.

In a shocking reversal, Sylas had over 4400 Defense right now.

Against most opponents, he could just stand in place and they still wouldn't be able to harm a hair on his head.

And from what this description said... the Set was still incomplete.

But just what had he done to become a Tier Two Madness Disciple? Was it just asking Taboo Questions? Or was it something he didn't understand?

Sylas had only just thought of these questions before the halo on the Madness Key slowly faded as it too finished its upgrade.

The magma came crashing back down around him, but Sylas hardly reacted to it as he had all the right in the world to be supremely confident in his Defenses right now.

Instead, he was entirely focused on the notification screen in front of him.

[Madness Disciple System Unlocked]

[Progress to Tier Three Madness Disciple]

[Feed Madness Key F-Grade Gold Gene]

[Accumulate 1000 Taboo Points]

>[<100/1000>]

[Unlock Tangible Demonic Will (Complete)]

'... Is that so?'

Sylas was suddenly curious about that Tier Two requirement. But, he had a very good guess.

Soon, his guess was proven correct.

[Progress to Tier Two Madness Disciple]

[Feed Madness Key F-Grade Silver Gene (Complete)]

[Accumulate 100 Taboo Points (Complete)]

>[<100/100>]

[Unlock Demonic Will (Complete)]

All this time he had spent avoiding Taboos, it seemed that he was holding himself back. But maybe... that was also a blessing in disguise, because regardless of how many Taboos he tabulated, unless he unlocked Demonic Will, it would have all been useless. Now, presumably... he could get the answer to his question with no strings attached.

[What is Demonic Will?]

[Demonic Will stands opposed to Will. While the latter exhibits control over oneself and one's basal desires, the former embraces it and seeks to understand them. Both are just as much a part of yourself, but without a strong understanding of both... they will consume you]

'Hm? That cost less...'

Sylas checked his Madness Key again after realizing it only swallowed one Gene, only to find that it had reset to the start once again.

It was now asking for Fragmented Genes to fuel it once more. However, because Sylas only had Bronze Genes to give it, it took one of them instead.

This was huge. If a part of the game was accumulating Taboo Points, then logically, he should accumulate them now while the cost was the lowest.

Or could it be that that factored into how many Taboo Points he would get as well?

Time would tell, but there was something that he could find out right now... Just how high was that threshold raised? What could he ask now with greater ease?

[How do you complete a Summoning without System Cities?]

[–]

[Cost: 10 Silver Genes]

Sylas' brows jumped. Even in his wildest dreams, he wouldn't think that the difference would

Be so stark. From a cost of 10,000 Silver Genes or 1 Gold Gene, it now only cost a fraction of

That!

But that immediately made his heart start thumping. In that case, what about the Genesis

Forge?

[What is this item?]

[–]

[Cost: 300 Bronze Genes]

It actually plummeted from 300 Silver Genes to just 300 Bronze Genes!

He could finally have an answer to this question that itched at the back of his mind.