Genetic Ascension

Chapter 299: Shadow

There was no suspense. This time, Sylas was completely washed out and he couldn’t surface nearly as easily. It was impossible to rely on buoyancy when there was this much water crashing on him from above. The downward force would overwhelm whatever upward force he could benefit from.

Sylas found himself buried several meters beneath sea level, but he was still calm. So long as he could orient himself, it wasn’t a problem. He could still point out the direction of the coastline, he knew which way was up, and he knew which direction he was going.

Rather than trying to fight against the current, he allowed it to carry him deeper, using a combination of his telekinesis, Dexterity, Speed, and Strength to rush forward.

With the help of all of these things, Sylas actually found that he was faster in the water than he would have been on land. Although his agility was lacking, when it came to straight-line speed, he felt that he was close to the pace of the Dire Wolf.

‘If it applies like this, can’t I use my telekinesis to bolster my body as well?’

Sylas felt that the whole path of telekinesis was… odd. There were too many questions about it and it was hard to follow.

For example, he could split his mind several ways. The higher his Wisdom, the more ways he could split them. And, theoretically, each one of his split minds should have the same Strength.

If one extrapolated that to its logical conclusion, then if he split his minds, and each one could exert the same Strength, then if he layered them, why couldn’t they multiply their Strength?

If one mind could lift 50 pounds, then two should lift a hundred, and four should lift double that.

Sylas had tried this out many times before, but it never worked as he thought it should. Although there was some boost, it was lackluster compared to what it should be, as though it was being nerfed or restrained by something.

Over time, Sylas had come to slowly understand that this was because his telekinesis wasn’t a force; it was a manifestation of his Will. It could act like a Force, but it wasn’t exactly that. That difference manifested most clearly when it was acting on an object.

If Sylas’ visualization range was a plane, then his telekinesis was almost like indents within that plane. If he made an indent in a certain location, adding a second indent to it took more effort as though he was trying to stretch out that plane further. Adding a third, a fourth, or even more, likewise took even more effort.

There was also the matter of range to consider. This wasn’t in regard to his visualization, but rather the actual form his Will took.

Sometimes he could make them into fists, sometimes he visualized his telekinesis in the form of gripping or pinching hands, sometimes he formed bowls or spheres to carry things, and sometimes he would just perfectly coat the item in question.

There didn’t seem to be much of a difference between these things at all other than the fact the Physical of his telekinesis would either be applied over a large area or a small area.

As though that wasn’t enough, there was also the fact that his telekinesis seemed to have weight limits. Someone with over 200 Physical could lift hundreds of pounds with ease, so why was it that even when his telekinesis could exert that sort of influence, it was limited to around 50 pounds?

It was all too confusing, even for Sylas. All of this didn’t even mention the greatest oddity of it all. In fact, Sylas believed that unless this question was answered, he might never truly understand. And that question was…

Where had his telekinesis come from?

Obviously, it wasn’t just a matter of having high enough Will and Charisma, or else everyone would have telekinesis. He arbitrarily guessed that it was related to his Madness Comprehension, but that answer wasn’t good enough for him.

What about Madness allowed him this?

When Madness was activated, all it did was increase his Will and Charisma; its description didn’t note any other abilities. And like he had thought before, if Will and Charisma were all it took, then everyone would have telekinesis.

These distracting thoughts almost made Sylas forget that he was in the middle of a very dangerous situation. He felt that maybe using his telekinesis directly on his body to bolster his speed might be useful. If he felt 50 pounds lighter, for example, how much faster would he be?

Truthfully, Sylas was letting his thoughts roam like this because while the situation seemed helpless, it was actually very easy to manage. Even after half a minute, he felt no immediate urge to breathe, and he was still rushing forward with great speed.

He should have already left the range of the tall wave, so there should be an opportunity to return to the surface too. Plus, this excursion had given him new ideas, so all in all, it was a win in his books.

‘Still, such a tall wave is odd.’

York City was known to suffer hurricanes from time to time, but they weren’t nearly as lethal as one might expect nearer the tropical regions of Earth. Plus, it was winter now, so they were already out of hurricane season.

It made no sense for there to be such tall waves unless his previous guesses were correct.

Had Aether already made Earth a more dangerous place than they knew yet?

As Sylas was lost in thought again, analyzing everything he could, his gaze sharpened.

He had used his Skill already because the waters were too turbulent and dark. This ended up helping him out somewhat. But the range of his visualization was still only five meters or so…

So when he saw the shadow in the distance, he couldn’t help but cringe.

The shadow was too large.

A whale?

[Sperm Whale (FFF+)]

[Level: 4]

[Physical: 431]

[Mental: 57]

[Will: 75]