Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1914: Sizzling

Sylas only had one shot at this. If he found anything good in this place, it would be all or nothing.

With the random orbit of the Hibernation Realm, returning to a place he had been in before would be impossible. There might be a future where he could control something like that, but it would be far away. And odds were, if he had such an ability, he would be able to travel to the Beast Heaven personally, so there would be no need to worry about using such roundabout tricks for any reason other than convenience.

Whatever the case, there would only be one chance-if there was a chance at all, that is.

As much as Sylas wanted a Contract as powerful as Gogoʼs crush, he had tried that already and she was too powerful. Granted, she had been a D-tier. But even so, she had been heavily suppressed, and Sylasʼ Vipermancy Profession wasnʼt normal.

That said, ”not normal” for the Mortal Realm versus ”not normal” for the God Realm were two vastly unlike things.

Even so, even if he didnʼt find something as powerful as that heiress, it didnʼt matter.

A God Beast was a God Beast. Even the weakest would probably be stronger than Nosphaleen and Gogo right now -within reason, of course.

And Sylas would still have some room to potentially improve them.

Worst-case scenario, he would leave with nothing. Middle-case scenario, he would gain himself some more meat to feed his Contracts and figure something else out.

Even now, Gogo and Nosphaleen were still partaking in Azurex meat.

The effects were slow and subtle, but they were there. If Sylas had had the time to process the meat into something better and more potent, the effects would surely be better.

He hadnʼt had the time before, but now he would certainly make the time.

First, though, he had to see what the God Realm had to offer him.

Sylas came to a stop.

A wind passed by, but it had a particularly sweet taste.

ʼPoison.ʼ

It didnʼt particularly matter. Mortal Realm, Demi-God Realm, or God Realm, Sylasʼ Runeweaver Eyes could still see Runes. While manipulating Demi-God and God Runes was impossible for him, seeing them was no issue.

Plus, Sylas knew poison when he smelled it.

Just the faintest whiff made his heart palpitate. The power threatened to drill into his body, but he managed to neutralize it easily enough.

Controlling Runes inside his body was a different matter than outside, especially when he had enough Will and comprehension to make it happen.

The God Will took some effort to drill down, but he could divide and conquer. He could also feel the weaknesses of the Runes and target those specifically.

ʼE-tier Poison. About 6,000 Foundations...ʼ

Sylas frowned. This was quite fragile.

From his understanding of the higher Realms, the standards at the lower levels should be exceptional.

Even the weakest beasts should be using near, if not perfect, Runes at the F- and E-tier levels, even at the D-tier and C-tier levels. Only after that would there be a drop-off.

ʼThis Poison isnʼt complete. Itʼs either being concocted, or itʼs coming from a compromised source.ʼ

Sylas decided to keep walking forward toward the source. He carefully scanned the invisible air of poison, the sweetness continuously tickling at his nose.

The more he smelled it, the more he felt that the sweetness was slowly spilling over into a fermented scent, and then even further into something just a hint spoiled and foul.

Sylasʼ eyes narrowed.

This was the most crude sort of poison. What was causing something like that?

Sylas turned a corner, still not sensing any real danger. But then his feet came to a stop.

Up ahead, there was a pool, or maybe it was more accurate to call it something between a well and a pond.

It was just a pit of bubbling tar. Every time a bubble popped, a light of violet and a plume of purple smoke would rise up, continuously, endlessly.

It didnʼt look like it was going to stop at any point.

ʼThis is...ʼ

The tar wasnʼt boiling because of heat. If there were such strong heat, Sylas would have sensed it already. Instead, it was a process similar to decomposition. Gases were escaping from what must have been... ʼCorpses?ʼ

Something was, indeed, fermenting here. But it wasnʼt fruit.

The problem was that God bodies were incredibly sturdy, even at the weakest levels. Any poison that could decompose them to this extent should be extremely powerful and certainly not at a mere 6,000 Foundations.

A bubble popped and a spurt of liquid shot at Sylas.

With a quick sidestep, Sylas dodged.

His vision followed it as the splotch landed on the ground. It sizzled for a short while and then vanished.

ʼWhat...?ʼ

Sylas was sure. Rather than the cave system decomposing, the poison itself decomposed when it touched the stone.

That didnʼt make sense. Sylas himself was still standing just fine. If the stone were decomposing things itself, he would have long since died.

Unless...

ʼMy Will?ʼ

Was it really the God Realm suppressing him so much? Or was it something else?

Sylas decided to double back for a moment and tried to follow the other paths of the cave. His memory and spatial awareness were practically second to none. So not only was he able to remember all the paths he had already followed, but he was also able to feel where each one of those paths lay in relation to one another.

He found a second pit, and then a third, then a fourth.

Each one was the same-bubbling masses of black that popped purple bubbles.

Sylas came to a stop and touched a wall with his fingers, running them through the cracks and crevices before pulling back.

There was a sizzling at his fingers that made his eyes narrow, but as quickly as it started, it stopped even more

quickly.

ʼAm I inside a beastʼs body?ʼ