Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1207  Away

Sylas gasped for breath, a frown marring his face by now.

This was the third Dungeon, a corpse of a Level 69 lich being crushed beneath his feet. But the fatigue was setting in heavily already, and in ways that he almost didnʼt want to admit.

Just a single Dungeon ago, he had been ready for this challenge, wanting to see just how close to Level 100 he could get before he truly had to begin to worry for his safety.

But he was quickly finding out that, let alone Level 100, Level 70 felt like a hard cap.

Just like in the F-Grade, every 10 levels in the E-Grade came with a huge, surging leap in power. But it was even more obvious in the E-Grade than it had ever been in the F-Grade.

Maybe it was because Sylas had been Level 0 for so long that all the Grades and Levels blended to nothingness to him, and all that ever mattered was stats. But being forced to look at nothing but Levels and Grades now, he was feeling the gap intimately.

It wasnʼt just that either, but Earth had had a very broken Grading system. Too many people had Grades in the FFF range and beyond, skewing things heavily.

In the wider galaxy, everything was more balanced, and there was a proper proportion of people in every rank.

Well, it wasnʼt that there were too many, but instead that because of what Sylas got up to, he was just always running into such people continuously.

That wouldnʼt happen here, and without everything being so heavy at the top, every division felt so much more meaningful.

He had already thought this would happen. But experiencing it was still different.

ʼNext.ʼ

There was only one way, and that was forward. It was already far too late to go back anyway.

Once again they entered a gaping hole, and once again they found themselves in a new Dungeon. But this time, they were hit by a wall of water. Or more accurately, they had in one moment been breathing air, only to find themselves consumed by the sea.

The water was heavy, the currents strong. Sylas realized instantly that if he let things continue like they were, they would be swept apart, and the other two would certainly die.

Nosphaleen would be fine because this was her element. But Alex and Jala would almost certainly not be able to swim against a current so strong, and something told Sylas that not being able to counter this current would lead you right into the jaws of danger.

ʼNosphaleen,ʼ Sylas communicated.

Understanding, Nosphaleen didnʼt hesitate. Instead of moving to help herself, she dove back into the Hibernation Realm, and Sylas didnʼt hesitate to activate Fusion.

In an instant, his hair had become a flowing white, his eyes a sharp blue. His sense of Water Aether deepened

considerably, and he tapped into Nosphaleenʼs Gene Talent, Sirenʼs Call.

While it sounded like another compulsion technique, it wasnʼt. Sylas had learned long ago that Sirenʼs Call was actually a Gene Talent that allowed Nosphaleen to force Water Aether into submission rather than a person.

It boosted her affinity by a large margin, and from what Sylas could tell, it also improved the Water Aether she could control by as much as 10 to 20 Foundations.

It was only nearer to 20 when it was in Sylasʼ hands, and much closer to 10 in Nosphaleenʼs. But even so, it wasnʼt all that great considering the Water Aether of the Clypsians was only around 40 Foundations to begin with.

Of course, if others heard Sylasʼ thoughts, they would be truly infuriated by such a thing. A 40 Foundation Aether wasnʼt normal by any means. Even the geniuses of the Golden Grove like Megean only had Aether at this level.

Granted, they were E-Grade now, so their Foundations were actually closer to 4,000 Foundations now.

To be able to forcefully control an Aether 20 Foundations above that, it was like gaining an enormous leap in talent in exchange for a raised heart rate.

Sylas activated Aetherborne Will and his telekinesis, pulling on the currents hard to keep everyone together. When he got his hands on the two of them, he grabbed on and then kicked.

He thought about following the currents, but he instantly felt that something was wrong.

ʼIs this really a Dungeon?ʼ

If this was a Dungeon, he would just continue to follow the currents because they should lead in the direction of the minions and BOSSes he needed to kill.

But if not, then following the currents might just lead him into a situation with no end.

Had he made it out of the Linked Dungeon system already?

But then where was Megean?

Sylas was confused, a rare feeling. He had just been thinking about nearing his limits, only for the Linked Dungeon to just… let him out?

ʼThe surface…ʼ

Sylas looked up, and his telekinesis churned around him.

BANG!

He shot out like a cannon, the water propelling around him in torpedoing might.

However, just as he was about to break for the surface, he slowed, his speed becoming more measured.

Visualization range was a lot narrower in the ocean, something he had experienced firsthand killing sperm whales. But now that he was close to the surface, it was different.

What he didnʼt expect was to barely begin to look when a fish net with barbed mesh and forged of heavy metal began to descend from the skies.

Sylasʼ caution paid off as he immediately accelerated back, Sirenʼs Call and his telekinesis working in tandem to pull the waters around him.

At that moment, the pair of wings on his back unfurled, flapping hard and propelling him back even faster and just out of the range of the closing net.

ʼIs that the danger of the Dungeon? No. That makes no sense.ʼ

Up there, he was certain. He had seen… a fishing boat?

...

Up above, a blue-skinned man with the tusks of a boar and the back of a bear growled.

”The fucking prey got away.”