Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1245  Level 31

”This damned beast is going to get us killed,” Alex complained for the millionth time in the last several days.

Sylas never really explained anything when he acted, but Alex had gotten a feel for the man. For Sylas not to come back after sending them up into the skies with the Hollow Wing, there was probably a reason for that.

Well, if Jala could hear Alexʼs thoughts, he would have certainly rolled his eyes. This had nothing to do with Alex ”having a feel” for Sylas. It was instead that it would take a complete idiot not to understand what was happening.

That was because, while Sylas hadnʼt told them anything, the Hollow Wing had certainly gotten his orders—as Sylas could easily command it like he would any other Serpentes.

Since Sylas left them, the Hollow Wing had been sweeping the region quite systematically. They were high in the air, and it was using a very controlled flight path to move across the land.

From the conversation between Sylas and Old Brama before their entry, it was also obvious that they were looking for somebody. So, that was their task:

Find this person.

As for who it was, Jala felt that was pretty obvious too. She was probably related to the old man who had all but threatened Sylas to force his entry. So she was almost certainly a Unitaur.

While Megean would just as certainly be doing her best to hide that fact, all they really had to do was pick out the person that didnʼt seem very Demonic.

Of course, there were a million different ways such a plan could go wrong. Megean could have advanced methods of disguising her. She could be hiding out in a place theyʼd never even spot from so high above. It was even possible that she could already be dead.

But Jala also wasnʼt in a mood to go above and beyond, and it wasnʼt as though they could step off the Hollow Wingʼs back.

Something told Jala that it certainly wouldnʼt allow that—not without ripping them to shreds first. Who knew how they might ruin Sylasʼ plans if they went off on their own?

If they were captured and interrogated—something very much possible in a world where they were the lowest common denominator amongst so many E-Grades—they

would be able to reveal too much about Sylas.

That said… they had managed to gather quite a bit of useful intel.

The moment Jala had the thought, the Hollow Wing

suddenly dove down.

This time, he was prepared, holding onto one of its feathers tightly. The damned thing had done this several times a day, always to target some unsuspecting Demon Beast. And every time it did so, it was one strike, one kill, followed by an annoyingly fast evolution.

How this creature was improving so fast was beyond Jala.

But then again, maybe that was just what happened when you were an F-Grade creature—somehow with Overlord status—capable of decapitating E-Grades.

If Jala knew that this was also supposedly a Mount, heʼd be even more baffled. Mounts, even Combat Mounts, were supposed to be severely limited without their riders. How the Hollow Wing had so much freedom, well… that hardly made much sense.

It was something that Sylas had yet to pick out as a peculiarity, but one of these days he would notice that he had Demonic Aether to thank.

SHUUUUU!

The Hollow Wing suddenly spread out its wings, the grass and soil below flattening and then blasting out in a wave as it came to a stop.

It was only then Jala and Alex realized that it wasnʼt striking at another beast, but instead coming to see someone.

Sylas.

The man looked to be a complete mess. Covered in his own blood and even bits of his own flesh, it felt a wonder that he was even standing at all.

But those eyes were cold and indifferent, just the same.

—

[Hollow Wing (???) (Sacred Mount)]

[Level: 31]

[Attribute: Hollow]

[+100% ALL Stats]

[Limit: XXX]

[Talents]

>[Hollow Burst]

>[Hollow Call]

>[Hollow Claw]

>[Hollow Bloom]

>[Hollow Beam]

>[Hollow Rend]

>LOCKED

…

—

[Hollow Rend (Talent)]

[Level: 30]

-

[Ignore Constitution within 10% of Limit, attacking Core] —

The first thing Sylas did was check the changes to the Hollow Wing to see how it had been progressing in his absence. Not only had it gone up an additional 11 Levels, but the new Talents it had awakened…

Honestly, Sylas was beginning to feel that the Hollow Wing was almost too powerful.

**\[Hollow Beam]** was fine enough—he could accept it. It was a concentrated line of Hollow Aether that was

practically immune to Aether defenses as it corrupted and tore it apart, phasing through and forcing a target to withstand a direct full-power attack.

But **\[Hollow Rend]**… it broke minds. Not literally, but after suffering an attack you couldnʼt block, how else could you react other than entering a state of mental anguish?

**\[Hollow Rend]** attacked the inner organs directly. So long as a target was within 10% of the Hollow Wingʼs stat Limit, they would suffer internal damage unless they had a way to counter the Skill itself.

It could be said that the sacrifice of the Bone-Tailed Lizard and the Glasirith was simply far too worth it. At this pace, the Hollow Wing would unlock four more Talents. Even if none were as broken as **\[Hollow Rend]**, it was simply far too worth it.

However…

While improving 11 Levels seemed great, especially since the Hollow Wingʼs abilities were limited without Sylas being here, it had been more than a week. Despite only killing E-Grades and growing exponentially more powerful every time it did, it was still only Level 31.

How much more killing would it need to hit Level 50? And what kind of bending would Sylas need to do to get it over the hump to E-tier?

One problem at a time.

For now, the Hollow Wing was a true monster, and it would be more than helpful in what he wanted to do next.