The runes were chained in some places, traced in others, warped beyond reason in yet more places. Even though this was the first time he was seeing them so clearly, he was certain that this was the case.
They called out to him, whining and shuddering beneath the foreign interference. And for some reason…
He knew now that someone tweaked Earth's physical laws every time they failed a Summoning, practically thrusting them back into the Stone Age. It was just that now he was seeing the physical manifestation of that interference.
Even if they passed this Summoning, either now or in the future, would Earth's laws ever be the same again? Or would they be permanently crippled?
Sylas reached out with a shaking hand and cupped a rune in his palm. He could clearly feel what it was about. It embodied the flexibility and flow of wind, not the wind itself, but the simple laws that dictated its movement.
He had taken such a physics class before—only at the lowest levels, but his memory had always been excellent. He could see those complex equations reflecting in his mind now, and he could almost feel how the constants that he was used to…
Weren't exactly right anymore.
As Sylas was lost in the feeling, he suddenly felt a mind-splitting headache.
The feeling of melancholy and rage, not to mention the vision of fluttering runes, vanished.
Sylas grabbed his head, stopping himself from roaring out while he took deep breaths.
Quickly, he began to circulate . Only then did the pain slowly subside.
He realized then that it was a great pull on his mental sharpness to observe runes . If he hadn't been so enamored, he would have realized this much earlier.
In the end, he pressed down those unwanted feelings and looked toward his gains.
[Name: Sylas Grimblade]
[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]
[Profession: Vipermancer (FFF+)]
[Titles: A Flexible Will; System Breaker; Legendary Tamer; BOSS Slayer; Skill Savant (FFF+); Madness Conqueror (FF-); Common Arts Enthusiast (F-); A Patient Stalker (F-)]
[Skills: Madness Control (FF+); Basic Scouting (F-); Maddened Enlightenment (FF+); Astral Bind (F+); Momentum Shift (F+); Solidify (F+)]
[Comprehensions: Madness (FFF)]
[Gene State: Flexible]
[Fragmented Genes: Grimblade Lineage (F); Voice of a King (F); (8) Dexterity (F); (6) Constitution (F); (4) Strength (F)]
[Common Genes: (6) Speed (F); (6) Strength (F); (4) Constitution (F); (6) Dexterity (F); (7) Intelligence (F); (3) Wisdom (F); (1) Will (F)]
[Bronze Genes: Basic Aetherflow (F); Enchanted Scribe (F)]
Sylas took a breath and realized that his status screen was a complete mess.
His Stat Limits had been increased to 140, and now several of his dormant stats had kicked in.
'Now, I have one more attempt to use the Flexible Gene State…'
Sylas decisively took out Joel's corpse.
Extricate was good, but it had a drawback, that being that he could only use one Gene at a time. That meant with a number-limited Elixir like the one he had just taken, he would be likewise limited in how much he could take advantage of it.
However, if he went through the system, he could use this last attempt on an entire body, and that was game-changing.
[Common Gene: (9) Strength (F); (9) Constitution (F); (10) Speed (F); (12) Wisdom (F); (4) Charisma (F); (6) Will (F)]
[Bronze Gene: Intelligence (F); Dexterity (F)]
[Attempt Assimilation?]
Sylas knew that his Gene Limit on Bronzes was two, and he already had both of them filled. So he would definitely be wasting both.
After some thought, he chose to take the risk and pulled the Intelligence Bronze Gene out of Joel's body and put it into the Gene Crystal.
The Gene Crystal shook, as though it was over capacity and might shatter at any time, so Sylas worked quickly. He gave up on the Dexterity Bronze Gene and clicked [Yes] on the system message.
Unfortunately, he couldn't just put the Genes into himself, or he would use up his last 65%-success attempt.
[Genes Successfully Assimilated]
[Common Gene: (5) Strength (F); (6) Constitution (F); (5) Speed (F); (10) Wisdom (F); (0) Charisma (F); (2) Will (F)]
[Genes Failed Assimilation]
[Common Gene: (4) Strength (F); (3) Constitution (F); (5) Speed (F); (2) Wisdom (F); (4) Charisma (F); (4) Will (F)]
[Name: Sylas Grimblade]
[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]
[Profession: Vipermancer (FFF+)]
[Titles: A Flexible Will; System Breaker; Legendary Tamer; BOSS Slayer; Skill Savant (FFF+); Madness Conqueror (FF-); Common Arts Enthusiast (F-); A Patient Stalker (F-)]
[Skills: Madness Control (FF+); Basic Scouting (F-); Maddened Enlightenment (FF+); Astral Bind (F+); Momentum Shift (F+); Solidify (F+)]
[Comprehensions: Madness (FFF)]
[Gene State: Quasi Brittle]
[Fragmented Genes: Grimblade Lineage (F); Voice of a King (F)
[Common Genes: (11) Strength (F); (10) Constitution (F); (6) Dexterity (F); (11) Speed (F); (7) Intelligence (F); (13) Wisdom (F); (3) Will (F)]
[Bronze Genes: Basic Aetherflow (F); Enchanted Scribe (F)]
Sylas exhaled a breath, feeling his body changing greatly.
He looked toward the Gene Crystal that was about to burst and quickly took the Bronze Intelligence Gene out. However, he realized something curious after he did so.
'A Gene Crystal shouldn't be capable of being used indefinitely, but why does this one show no signs of wear and tear after two attempts? It only began to shake after I put in a Gene it couldn't withstand… Could it be?'
Sylas' gaze glowed brightly.
Could it be that if he used Extricate instead of using the Gene Crystal directly, he could extend the life of his Gene Crystals? Maybe even indefinitely?
He shook his head. 'It shouldn't be indefinitely. But with Extricate, I should be able to take a Gene Crystal that would only last two or three attempts, and make it last five or six…'
Gene Crystals weren't only rare, but they were limited-use items. Sylas had just been lucky to have a 100% success rate the first time around, and this time he had been forced to hold onto this Gene Crystal until he finally found a Flexible Gene State Elixir.
Of course, he had still already reached his Bronze Gene Limit, so he'd need a stronger Gene Crystal to make another attempt. But this was still huge.
The possibilities for what he could do with this were endless.
He could sell it, he could use it to test hypotheses, he could use it to help the Basilisk King evolve, potentially, he could even use it to help his family.
With a solemn expression, he put the Gene Crystal away and turned to the Bronze Intelligence Gene.
Until now, his control over Aether was still far too limited. This just might enlighten him to many things he was missing.
With that thought, he began to press it into his body.
But that was when another unexpected change occurred and his expression changed.