Genetic Ascension

[Name: Sanzi Cott]

[Level: 50]

[Physical: 97 333]

[Mental: 79 114]

[Will: 92 289]

sanzi looked up to find Sylas already looking at him. Beneath the latter, there was a cube just large enough for him to stand comfortably, but not having the slightest hint of space to take a step.

By comparison, Sanzi was standing on a particularly large cube.

“I can give you time to recover if you agree to give me information. If you would not like to do so, we can simply do battle now,” Sylas said calmly.

His words weren’t particularly antagonistic, but they didn’t need to be.

To Sanzi, who couldn’t even read Sylas’ stats right now, it was a deal he could hardly pass up unless he was a fool. However, that was also why Sylas chose not to antagonize him.

There was no need to. If he did so, it would just give Sanzi a reason to pick his pride over logic.

Just the fact Sylas seemed completely unaffected spoke for it. However, there was one thing that Sanzi realized immediately and his lips spread into a bloody grin.

“No one who comes from a Horizon worth remembering would become a Champion so completely unscathed. The implied threat in your words is a little childish, don’t you think?”

He had only just said the words when he froze.

A radiant crown appeared above Sylas’ head, radiating a bloodied aura, one that seemed to stink of blood even more than Sanzi did right this moment.

“Primus Imperium…” Sanzi’s eyes narrowed.

it had been a very long time since a Primus Imperium appeared in the Tower of Champions. It was just too risky.

A Primus Imperium would usually be fine in the Sector of choice, but they might not even be invincible across an entire Horizon, let alone in a competition across Horizons ike this one.

He would say that Sylas was too bold, but he also knew that the moment the preliminary rounds were through, this would be announced. Sylas wouldn’t be able to hide it even if he wanted to.

This was something that Sylas had likely guessed as well.

The fact that Sylas was asking for information only seemed to further prove that he knew too little about the world and had almost certainly come from a very weak Sector on top of that.

Even so, Sanzi wasn’t a fool. He knew of the advantages Primus Imperiums had.

Even if Sylas came from a weak Sector, being able to control E-Grade Aether alone would make him a difficult opponent to overcome. If he wasn’t at 100%, it would cause issues.

“… What do you want to know?”

“What Sector you come from, what Horizon it’s under, the general power structure, and who is on your team. Your Race, their general abilities, and the same for your teammates. Of course, I also want to know who left you in this state.”

Sanzi’s eyes narrowed. “You’re scouting.”

“Is that a problem? We can do battle now if you’d like.”

sanzi’s gaze sharpened.

“I come from the Umbral Sector under the Grave Horizon. I am of the Oozun Race, and we’re particularly well known for our ability to maintain our peak battle state even when death is nigh.”

Sylas didn’t seem to react to this information even though Sanzi’s words were practically snubbing at his nose.

To claim he could maintain his peak battle state while near death, and yet be negotiating with Sylas like this… did he take Sylas for a fool?

Even so, Sanzi continued to speak and Sylas didn’t interrupt. As he meandered, his dizziness was slowly dispelled until he could stand straighter and straighter, his body radiating a darkened bloody glow.

Sylas suddenly waved a hand.

BANG.

At that moment, an existence that had appeared behind him was suddenly restricted by a great number of Runes. High in the skies, a Glassvolt Throne appeared and the entire world fell under Sylas’ control.

The image ahead of a bloodied man slowly froze as though the one controlling it was broken.

The real form of Sanzi appeared high in the air, scratching and clawing at his own neck as he tried to escape.

The Sanz that Sylas had originally seen was very human-like. But this one was anything of the sort. His hair wiggled about with snake-like creatures that didn’t radiate even the slightest hint of a Serpentes air.

It was the oddest thing Sylas had ever seen, but each one of these creatures seemed to carry a strand of Sanzi’s Will, as though each one was equally as much Sanz as his real self.

Sylas turned his head to the side and up to look over his shoulder and meet Sanzi’s flailing gaze.

“I only let you speak for so long because it was clear you were telling me about very real things. But none of this is about your actual Horizon and Sector, now is it? Why don’t you tell me the truth, then? Unless you want to die?”

The panic in Sanzi’s eyes was evident. He should just be able to directly give up, but every time he thought about it, something pressed down on his Will.

It was like he was being separated from the world.

It was just like Sylas had expected. The moment he heard that a new environment would be spawned for the battles, he knew that he wouldn’t need to worry about these battles. Because it was an F-Grade Empyrean Dungeon, all of the spawned environments would be fully formed of F-Grade Runes. Whether it was Sylas’ Will, his True Pride Seed, his [Glassvolt Throne] Growth Skill… each and every one was orders of magnitude more powerful here than in the outside world where stronger Runes could interfere.

Sylas could win most of these battles just by turning the world they were in against his opponents.

Whoever could give him a true battle in this place would have to be exceptionally powerful.

“Now, let’s try this again, shall we? This time, your choice isn’t between discussion and battle, it’s between life and death. You decide.”