Genetic Ascension

Sylas stood with his arms crossed, looking out of the one-way windows of the vessel as it shook.

His feet, however, were practically glued to the ground, his body hardly swaying outside of his hair.

…

“What is going on here, Drave, Kaeryn? Why were the gravity arrays activated?”

An old man shot out from one of the many hidden rooms of the vessel, facing off against the pair of siblings with a frown on his face.

“Elder Leos, there was no time, we had to act first—,” Drave quickly spoke to cut his sister off before she started rambling about random nonsense. This was a time-sensitive matter.

The elder frowned.

Compared to the pair of siblings, his crown of thorns was far thicker, darker, and even seemed to be somewhat cracked in some regions. But these cracks seemed to radiate with a fog of crimson, forming a thin veil of cloudy red that hung above his head like a halo.

This halo, vague as it was, was a sign of a truly powerful Ossaran. Though, because it was so hard to spot, it could be said that this Elder Leos was limited in just how much of this power he could tap into.

“Explain. Cut the nonsense.”

Drave immediately pivoted when he heard these words.

In truth, this training exercise wasn’t just for them. There were other Ossarans in the cabin that were focused on their own training. While completing this circuit, they planned to go to another Astral Dungeon more appropriate for them.

The fact Drave had already delayed them by giving up their spot in the queue was already enough to piss the elder off, but he hadn’t known about this.

Unfortunately, this was different.

As expensive as it was to escape a Gravity Array, deploying one wasn’t exactly cheap either.

They needed that fuel and those Aetherstones for the rest of their trip. Using the array when they didn’t absolutely need it wasn’t just a waste—it might ruin the chances of finishing the Astral Dungeon Circuit they had planned.

When Elder Leos heard the explanation, his eyes sharpened.

“Primus Imperium?”

There was a flash of almost lightning that came from his gaze.

“Your actions are a bit too erratic. If what you say is true, the system is not a fool, although there are ways to trick it. If this Primus Imperium cleared the Abyssal Cathedral on his own, you are no match for him, and I cannot help you defeat him. So how exactly are you expecting to get the Title? You can’t be expecting me to injure him first, right?”

Although Elder Leos didn’t explain any further, what he wanted to say was clear enough.

The system would be able to sense something like that and wouldn’t count the loss as Sylas’s.

“What you say is true, Elder. But I do not believe that things are that simple, and as you say, there are ways to trick the system.”

Drave flipped a palm and a video of Sylas’s performance in the Rune Master Tower appeared.

“I’ve analyzed this video a few times. If I’m correct, this Sylas Grimblade has a rare Time Will Ability that he can map onto his Rune Mastery. This is likely what was acknowledged, and he became the Primus Luminera of this Sector.”

Elder Leos frowned. A Primus Luminera and Primus Imperium in a single body? Drave had not mentioned this before.

“The Abyssal Cathedral is difficult not because of the enemies, but because of the environment. But to this Sylas Grimblade, this environment would make him stronger, not weaker. I don’t believe his stats are as strong as ours. He is just well-suited to clearing the Abyssal Cathedral.

“I acted to activate the Gravity Array first because so long as we can stop him from escaping, then we should be able to defeat him. Even if the system chooses not to grant me his Primus Imperium Title, the reward for defeating him will still be quite great.

“It would be invaluable for not only building my Foundation, but also the coming event.”

Drave and Kaeryn were older than one might expect for an F-tier of the Ossarans. They were in their late teens, but this was usually the age of their E-tiers.

A 28-year-old like Sylas would already be in the D-tier for most of them, and this was the tier they would spend the most of the prime of their lives in.

They were still in the F-tier purely for the sake of the coming Crown Beast Sanctum event.

Elder Leos listened to Drave’s explanation calmly, not interrupting a single time, but as Drave finished up, he felt his heart sink.

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He was too used to this Elder. His expression right now… it was the expression he had when he wasn’t impressed by a single thing he was seeing or hearing.

“Yes? Are you finished?” Elder Leos asked.

Drave gulped. “Yes.”

“So your assessment is that someone who can use the environment of a Dungeon to their benefit instead of detriment is… weaker than you?”

Drave’s gaze flickered. “Elder, if you put it like that—”

“You don’t understand anything. It’s clear you’re still a child. Do you think the Primus Imperium Title is just handed out to anyone? It appears so rarely that you don’t understand it in the slightest.

“A Primus Imperium Title is a Title of Conquest. There isn’t a single aspect, a single thing of the F-tier this entire Sector could throw at this young man that he wouldn’t be able to defeat with ease. That includes anything ever produced by this Sector.

“You don’t understand anything. It’s clear you’re still a child. Do you think the Primus Imperium Title is just handed out to anyone? It appears so rarely that you don’t understand it in the slightest.

“A Primus Imperium Title is a Title of Conquest. There isn’t a single aspect, a single thing of the F-tier this entire Sector could throw at this young man that he wouldn’t be able to defeat with ease. That includes anything ever produced by this Sector.

“Including this Astral Dungeon.”

Drave’s pupils trembled.

“You don’t just become a Primus Imperium by being a slight tick stronger than the last strongest Imperium. And you certainly don’t become the First Imperium so casually.

“You want to challenge this Primus Imperium? Sure. Go into the Dungeon alone and beat his record. Then I’ll care enough to waste resources on this foolishness.”

Elder Leos waved a hand.

“Release the array before—”

BOOM.

The Gravity Array shook and then shattered.