Genetic Ascension

Gralith’s head slowly turned toward the Bat Lineage.

“Have you not grown tired of barking yet?”

Byahmad’s gaze sharpened, a red ring appearing around his irises. There was a peeling echo of Aether that came out of him, coating everything in the surroundings, seemingly forming a sonar-like attack that was more of a threat than a true impulsive strike.

But it was enough to cause several of the weaker disciples to faint, while Sylas felt a particularly strong rattling in his mind.

CRACK.

A fissure cut across one of the lenses in Sylas’ sunglasses, the chipped pieces nearly blinding him. They were small and fragmented, but… They rebounded off of his eyes with hardly any trouble at all.

Eyes were supposed to be the most vulnerable part of the body, but Sylas’ current eyes just might be the strongest part of him.

Before anyone could say anything, Sylas slowly took his glasses off, the glow in his emerald eyes having faded until there was seemingly nothing at all to see.

He looked at his broken glasses, his eyes unmarred by the sudden attack.

Gralith also didn’t say anything. Even in most situations he would have snapped by now, but he got a peculiar feeling from Sylas’ Will at the moment.

Byahmad’s eyes narrowed. The one thing he was really wary of was Sylas’ eyes, so he had targeted the sunglasses on purpose. In the best case, Sylas would be blinded. But even if that didn’t happen, he was hoping to learn just what that pressure was.

Sylas had used his eyes to crush the E-tiers, and it was a huge part of why he was so untouchable, and yet struggled so much to learn E-Grade Runes after the fact.

His eyes were practically a cheat code when it came to the usual Secret Realm requirements.

It had to be remembered that Sylas’ eyes were capable of both Unravelling and Weaving Runes together. It was just that he had never had any guidance in using them, and his own Rune drawing speed was already ridiculous, so he had never actively incorporated his eyes into his Rune drawing process.

He bet that if he was able to figure it out, he might be able to use his eyes to improve his E-Grade Rune drawing to a substantial degree, though it had been mostly useless to him in the F-Grade. He just needed time to learn and adjust.

But when it came to the Secret Realm? His Level 100 Profession was on a level of its own.

He could see through the Matrices in a single instant, then use his eyes to force them to Weave together. This was the real reason he had crushed the Thryskai so easily.

Byahmad didn’t really believe that Sylas was truly an E-tier—he wasn’t that much of a fool. But as someone from a race of people with powerful eyes, he wanted to understand just where Sylas’ came from and how they could be so strong as well.

He thought that the moment he destroyed Sylas’ sunglasses, he could learn what those secrets were, and even if he couldn’t, he would injure them to the point they would be useless in the meantime.

But he had actually failed on both accounts.

Sylas wore the sunglasses because they saved him the mental strength he would otherwise need to use to suppress his Charisma… not because he had no other choice.

Gwenu seemed about to blow her top, but just as her mother looked toward her to say something to stop her unruly daughter, it was Khan who pressed her back into her seat.

“Just wait,” he whispered into her ear.

Gwenu grit her teeth and then did as she was told.

“The Bat Lineage is truly something else,” Sylas said calmly. “There’ve already been two attempts to integrate, leading to two resounding failures. Yet, instead of introspecting, you’ve just continued to swap your disciples in and out as though this will make the difference.”

Sylas looked up, meeting Byahmad’s gaze only briefly before his eyes landed on a young man by his side.

“Now, you’ve broken my things in a vain attempt to injure me. Why? Because you want another challenge? There’s no need for such roundabout methods. I don’t need to prepare or swap out. You would like me to fight your E-tier? Sure. I will.”

Sylas stood to his feet.

The seating arrangements of the various lineages hovered on spinning half-pods of polished bronze. The moment he stood, they seemed to react to his intentions, and a seamless, once-invisible door opened up.

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Sylas stepped out and fell like a meteor to the ground. And yet, when he landed on the marble, there wasn’t the slightest fluctuation.

“Come, then. You attempted to injure me, so I will take the life of your disciple.”

There was a biting, chilling cold to Sylas’ words as emerald winds surged around him.

Byahmad’s eyes carried a sharp luster to them, but before he could say anything, the young man stood.

“I’m glad that you’ve admitted to taking Vaernon’s life. In that case, the Sanctum can rest easy when I take your head.”

Sylas looked at him quite calmly. “The hearing of bats should be their greatest asset, but it doesn’t seem like your ears work very well. I don’t remember ever admitting to such a thing.

“But then again, you don’t seem very bat-like, now do you?”

The aura of the young man suddenly fluctuated.

It only took a single glance for Sylas to tell. This young man wasn’t a member of the Bat Lineage at all.

The Bat Lineage was just one of the many pawns of the Thryskai, and all things considered, even if they did have greater ties to the Sanctum than Sylas knew, even a mortal Thryskai Clan was too high up to pick such a weak lineage.

This young man had likely been randomly transferred into the Bat Lineage because the others couldn’t stack up. He didn’t have the aura of a Bat at all.

BANG!

The young man landed before Sylas, his aura rippling.

“You are far too arrogant. Death might be the only cure.”

—

[Name: Zolte Kaelthar][Level: 64]

—[Physical: 18,372][Mental: 23,991][Will: 19,998]