Genetic Ascension

Sylas' gaze seemed to penetrate into the very soul of the Basilisk King.

He had seen this sort of look many times before.

Motivation.

Some people thought that this was all you needed to make it through life. You would feel some acute painful or embarrassing situation, then you would swear that you would change your life from that point onward.

But that wasn't how real life worked.

Motivation was fleeting. It came in spurts and could just as easily vanish, overshadowed by much harsher and less idealistic emotions.

This was why Sylas had always built his life around Discipline instead. This was what drove him to accomplish what he had, to reach the heights he had.

The determination in the Basilisk King's eyes didn't move Sylas at all. He had seen it in too many people.

But soon enough, those same people who swore to his face that they would be better would end up sinking back into their same habits again.

The Basilisk King could feel Sylas' indifference to the fire in its belly, but it could only clench its jaw, seemingly forgetting that the Professor was in its mouth.

The fire of its Will flickered in the midst of a buffeting storm.

"Let's begin, then."

Sylas didn't say anything else. Whether the Basilisk King could change... that would be up to it.

Reaching out a palm, the Gene Core and the Basilisk Skin Armor floated forward.

There was a flash of intent from Sylas' gaze as the Runes of the Basilisk Skin Armor were suddenly activated.

At that moment, Sylas' One Kind For Me Path took the reins.

The procedure from this point was highly complex. It required transferring the Runes of the Basilisk King Armor to the Gene Core, evolving it.

However, as one might expect, if Sylas couldn't even analyze a simple Gene, he certainly couldn't modify a far more complex one.

This Gene Core was from a Level 35 FFF- beast of the outside world. While this didn't sound impressive to the current Sylas, it had to be remembered that this Grading system was scaled to the world of the Sylphs and not that of Earth.

The Sylph world was one where most were of an E-Grade Race. Not only this, but their world had cleared their Summoning long ago, and as such, their hierarchy had likewise settled down properly.

An FFF-existence in this world would make an FFF+ beast of Earth look like a complete and utter joke. To have such a Grade in a world of E-Grade Races, it wouldn't be a surprise if this beast had stats that overshadowed Bronze Beasts.

Of course, there was more to being a Bronze Beast than just stats. This was why they were also known as "King" Beasts.

But this wasn't what was important now. What was more important was the fact that this Gene Core almost certainly had Silver Genes in it. The reason Sylas had never even thought to use it was because the moment he got his hands on it, he realized just how valuable it was.

If he foolishly tried to use it to answer a question or two he had, then he might never be able to help the Basilisk King evolve.

This was all to say that it was beyond Sylas to manipulate these Genes. And the Runes of a Silver Grade Legendary Path Treasure were likewise too complex for him.

He was proven correct instantly. The Silver Grade Basilisk Skin Armor was forged with 40 Foundation Runes drawn to 50% Mastery, or in other words, Flesh Mastery.

And those were just the ones that Sylas could actually decipher himself. There were clearly much more complex ones hidden deeper.

So if all of this was so far beyond Sylas, how was he managing it?...

The Runes flowed smoothly, the overly complex Gene Runes becoming like playdough in Sylas' hands as he shifted and twisted their Foundations and Strokes, sliding the Runes of the Basilisk Skin Armor in place to replace them.

... The answer to that was obvious.

He didn't need to think about it at all.

His Legendary Profession handled everything.

Runes that he wasn't able to comprehend fed their information to his mind as he entered a trance.

When it came to helping Serpentes Beasts evolve, Sylas could naturally do it with ease because the system was supporting his efforts.

While he wasn't able to understand these Runes personally or use them outside of this application, for this moment...

He didn't need to.

In just a few minutes, the Basilisk Skin Armor had lost all of its luster, falling into the lava as a complex Gene Rune hovered before Sylas.

In the eyes of others, this might look infinitely close to a Gold Rune, and it was maybe the most valuable Gene on Earth right now.

However, Sylas intuitively knew that this wasn't an additional Rune for the Basilisk King...

It was actually nothing more than a key.

Sylas pressed his palm forward and the world shook just the slightest bit before he pushed the Gene Key into the Basilisk King's body.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence as Sylas stumbled back, his mind being hit with waves of fatigue. It was only after he awoke that he realized his Rune Essence comprehension had helped him greatly.

While the system could help him, it couldn't make a lame duck a phoenix. It still had to control things through his body. If the Runes rejected him too much, the system wouldn't have been able to succeed, at least not without his Wisdom being substantially higher.

Luckily... Sylas was a complete anomaly himself.

Sylas stabilized himself, shaking his head as he looked forward. The world still seemed to be

Silent.

Too silent.

But very quickly, that changed.

BANG!

Sylas was sent stumbling back once again, his vision going black as something heavy and stick

Splattered against him.

His pupils constricted.

'Blood...'

Suddenly, he was soaked from head to toe.