Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1409: Life [Bonus]

[Fuck you Chrono. May the lava waters of hell come out from your ass when next you pop a squat] ”What is it?” the young man asked his sister.

His younger sister blinked for a while, her head tilting one way, then the next before a light bulb seemed to go off.

”Interesting.”

”Stop being so mysterious. Whatʼs going on?”

”That ship… itʼs a bit, well… over-engineered. Itʼs the combination of five vessels, fused together with different aspects. Whoever did it is at least skilled enough to make it run smoothly, but it was a complete waste of money.

”Itʼs either whoever did it didnʼt have the time to wait for the raw materials to build out their own ship, or they didnʼt have the skills to build one in the first place and instead went this route.”

The young manʼs eyes narrowed.

”Youʼre saying this is the combination of five vessels? For that to be possible, it would have to—”

”Come from a much weaker Sector? Yeah. Thatʼs right.”

The two siblings looked toward one another, interest in their eyes.

This was an Astral Dungeon, and they were well aware of the standard of the people in this Sector, though they hadnʼt had much interaction with them. Those people knew better than to antagonize them.

”Wait…” the young woman seemed to have an idea, and she tapped a foot at the air.

”Youʼre connecting to the Nexus?”

”Yes. I want to see what ships this corner of the universe has to sell. Maybe…”

Her voice trailed off as her eyes zipped by.

”Indeed… it should be the combination of these five vessels. A crash landing, maybe? I find it hard to believe that this Sector would have people whoʼd spend money on something like this. Maybe it was someone from outside the Sector in dire straits…”

The young man frowned.

There was one problem with that bit of analysis. If it was someone who crash-landed, their situation wasnʼt good. Why would coming to this Dungeon be their top priority?

His little sister was smart—smarter than him, probably. But her overall understanding of people and emotions was a bit limited. She knew how to deduce things, but it was usually up to him to fit her thoughts into the world in a way that made sense.

In that case…

”Move over a bit. Iʼll check around the Nexus.”

The young woman found her system booted from control as her brother took over. He scanned things even faster, ignoring what was useless as though he was looking for something in particular.

But he couldnʼt even seem to find what it was he was searching for before he was bombarded with a continuous stream, all coming from the same person.

Sylas Grimblade.

Sylas Grimblade.

Sylas Grimblade.

The name popped up so many times, so frequently, and so often it made his head spin.

”Hm? Warlord Sanctum 073…? What a coincidence…”

His eyes suddenly sparkled as he looked toward the ship.

”What did you find?” Getting a bit impatient, the young woman poked at her brotherʼs side.

”Just some speculation. Nothing confirmed. Weʼll know after this, now wonʼt we?”

The young woman looked at the young man for a long while before she erupted.

Leaping onto his back, she took his hair into her little fists, pulling hard.

”Tell me right now!”

—

Sylas sat in silence, the Whale Lineageʼs legacy in the palm of his hands. His eyes were quite calm as he observed the silky-finned and tailed whale moving about.

It was an objectively beautiful creature, but the fact it was here at all made Sylas realize something quite profound… There was a fundamental difference between the four strongest legacies and the ones beneath them.

Sylas had been through everything the Scorpion Lineage had, and they certainly didnʼt pass on their lineage like this. The Whale Lineageʼs legacy had such a substantial Will that it manifested a spirit like this… The Scorpion Lineage didnʼt have this. Its lineage was passed on in those ten Strokes Sylas had learned as a new disciple.

What Sylas didnʼt quite understand yet was what the fundamental difference was.

At first, he thought it was [Earth Escape]. He had pointed out how [Earth Escape] didnʼt match the Scorpionʼs lineage long ago, and Gralith had warned him never to question it again.

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But Sylas had already fixed that. That was why the Emperor Sanctum had come to snatch his Gene in the first place. But he was sure that that wasnʼt the difference here. There was something more fundamental.

ʼThe Ancestors of the Whale, Ape, Serpent, and Lion Lineages… they should be the difference. Their Wills were much stronger, and the Armors they created were more perfect as a result. The other Lineages had a lower starting position because their Ancestors were weaker.Something this fundamental… I wonʼt be able to improve the Scorpion Armor to this level until I reach the level of those Ancestors. But that much is fine for now.ʼ

Comprehend. That was his task right now.

And for an F-Grade legacy, for him…

That was a matter of a few minutes even without Andromeda.

Sylasʼ eyes flashed and the crystal cracked. The Whale unleashed a howl as it was released, expanding wildly.

Large pools of Aether rushed toward it as it swam around Sylas.

Sylas could feel a strong repulsion force coming from it, but the moment his Primus Luminaria Crown appeared, that resistance was immediately culled.

In his presence, no creation of another Rune Master had the right to be so arrogant.

Chi.

The Whale burst, its body surging into curtains of complex Runes forming into a beautiful mesh.

Sylasʼ eyes darted around, bouncing from Rune to Rune with the control of a seasoned warrior. There was nothing his eyes missed in the slightest, and seeing through these Runes felt no less difficult than reading the words in a childrenʼs book.

ʼIʼve got it. Iʼve got it.ʼ

There was a joy bubbling up in Sylasʼ heart. He knew he loved Runes, but this was a feeling that was beyond the mastery he had ever enjoyed before.

It felt like life itself was in the palm of his hands.

These Runes, simplified so perfectly, did exactly that… embody life.

And to him, even something so complex came with the ease of a breath.