Genetic Ascension

It was like Sylas didn’t even hear the roar. He knew it wasn’t for Burne’s death. It was because of what they sensed from his armor.

Maybe they were right to be.

He had stripped Burne of his Genes, tore them down from D-tier to F-tier, and then recast them into an Armor. Using the Ape Emperor Armor’s wrathful, berserk state as a catalyst, he added a Will component to the exaggerated heat and power of the troll’s body. Then, he used part of his Glassvolt as a foundation for the chill, also incorporating Will into the cooling aspects of the Armor as well.

In an instant, he had completely revamped the F-tier Ape Emperor Armor and done it using the foundation of a Race on the verge of being an A+ one.

But worse than that, he had made a mockery of their Gene Locks with a casual flick of his wrist and an indifferent tinge in his eyes.

The Ape Emperor Mountain shook.

A roar came from the Spirit within the 713th Ape Emperor’s body, and soon a Will every Ape Emperor could sense bloomed.

It was just as Gralith had said. This was exactly what happened when someone made a contribution to a Lineage.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Space tore eight ways around Sylas, eight weapons as large as his body swinging for his head in unison.

Eight Royal Blue Trolls appeared at once, their fury forming icicles in the web of space as their Aether worked overtime to keep their body temperatures within manageable ranges.

Sylas took a step and vanished.

The weapons passed right through where he had been. When he stepped out from the void, he raised a hand to his forehead, touching it lightly.

A bead of blood trailed down the length of his finger, sinking down into his palm.

He was actually still a step slow to respond. Odd.

Sylas looked toward the group of eight, scanning them one by one until he found the culprit.

—

[Rebur Royal (CCC+)]

[Level: 183]

[Physical: 157,373,376]

[Mental: 197,222,870]

[Will: 103,777,992]

—

Chi.

The bead of blood froze over as Sylas’ Armor shattered to pieces. It crumbled out of the skies, falling away in motes of energy and malformed Runes.

Rebur’s maw opened and he roared, the halberd in his hands shaking violently until it split into two. Wielding a polearm in each hand, his aura sent the other trolls flying.

In an instant of time, he appeared in front of Sylas, his halberds crisscrossing. More space crackled, lines of blue and silver forming like shattered glass across time.

A pressure Sylas couldn’t easily break free of descended all around him. This wasn’t a strength that he had ever faced before, and their stats weren’t even remotely close enough for Sylas to even begin to bridge the gap with any sort of ease.

Sylas’ eyes flashed with emerald, his body becoming coated in his telekinesis. Madness bloomed from his mind and his Will skyrocketed in strength.

Instantly, his Will and Charisma both shot over 200,000,000 stat points.

BOOM.

Scythe and halberds met in the air, a clash that shattered the earth and rent the clouds, ripping everything in its wake apart.

Rebur took one heavy step, and then another, and then another.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

He couldn’t withstand the strength anymore and took a quick succession of three more before he finally stabilized himself.

He looked down at his feet, and then his weapons, before his eyes finally landed on Sylas.

Just what… had he just experienced? An E-tier blocked his blow and even made him take several steps back?

Sylas, though, wasn’t paying any attention to him. Instead, he was looking at his scythe that had suffered a chip.

Runes flourished and the wounds of the scythe healed in an instant of time. But when Sylas looked back toward Rebur, it was like he had been personally offended by the result of the last exchange.

Sylas’ scythe spun in his hands as Runes flourished to life around him. In that moment, he looked little different from the center of the universe. Runes rotated around him like he had become a galaxy with spiralling arms filled to the brim with stars.

When they stopped, a new Ape Emperor Armor had formed, this one mixed of a cool blue and sharp greens, edges of gold forming accents that made it look all the mightier.

Sylas raised his scythe to the skies.

—

[Glassvolt Throne (EEE+) (Growth Skill)] (Progenitor Mastery)

[Stand in the skies and draw it into your command, increase the power of your Glassvolt Aether beyond the Realms of what your body can handle… but its power will be dependent on your understanding of the world you stand in] —

A bolt of lightning descended with the slash of Sylas’ scythe.

Rebur’s eyes opened wide and he hurried to block. But the instant the scythe of energy touched his weapons, they shattered to pieces.

A gash was cut across his chest, blood spurting. Arcs of violet and emerald lightning ate into his defenses and Will, ripping him apart from the inside out.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“REBUR!” the Royal Blue Trolls that had been sent flying earlier tried to hurry to help support. But if they had been blown away by Rebur’s momentum so easily earlier… what did they think they were capable of doing now, exactly?

Sylas had already appeared above Rebur’s falling form, his claws scraping across spacetime itself as it descended.

[Chaotic Menace].

Just as his claws touched Rebur’s skull, arcs of lightning manifested from seemingly nothing at all.

Chi.

Puchi.

Blood rained, a skull shattered, gore spilled outward.

A C-tier genius. Dead in just three exchanges…

By the hands of an E-tier.

Frosty energy filled the air as Sylas exhaled.

A beam of energy shot out from his ear, a line of silver and black ripping right into the flesh of Rebur’s neck.

The Ruby Ouroboros sucked Rebur dry and then flashed back to Sylas’ side, taking its place in his ear.

Sylas’ scythe arced through the skies and seven more heads flew up.

Without even glancing at them again, his body swapped with his clone once more and he returned to his lofty perch, indifferently watching the battle below.