Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1756 Against All Odds

This left Sylas with two rewards: the Against All Odds Reward and the Titan Reward. Both seemed quite great, and neither had a name that made him particularly curious, so he simply chose one and opened the Against All Odds Reward.

[Against All Odds]

[Your feats are that of legend. Known far and wide, your name has become one that holds true weight, worthy of a Royal Hero Line of Legend] [You have been granted access to a Royal Hero Line Quest]

[Mark of the Seeing Eye (Royal Hero Line Quest) (Legendary)]

[The Seeing Eye Guild has a history long marred by time. Their origins are murky, and their goals even more so. Touched by the presence of another Heaven, their interactions with the Skai Heaven have been dubious and obstructive in ways that are difficult to parse.] —

That was it.

There was nothing else to reward, no further description; there wasnʼt even a specific task tagged to it like there should have been. But seeing this, Sylas didnʼt feel disappointed. In fact, his eyes were radiating a bright light.

The implications of this Royal Hero Line Quest were impossible to fathom, even for him.

For one, the system seemed to be implying that the Seeing Eye Guild was a traitor, almost certainly sent from the Cryst Heaven. But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because... Who cared?

Why would the system even care about this? The system shouldnʼt have any favorites between the Heavens at all. It wasnʼt as though the other Heavens were the Demon World. The Demon World was completely separate from the other Heavens.

If this had been a Quest about the Demon World encroaching on them, then sure, it would make at least some sense. Though, even then, it would be odd.

If the system sensed movement of the Demon World here on such a large scale, it would just smite them out of existence. It wouldnʼt wait, and it certainly wouldnʼt give a Quest to an F-tier to deal with.

But the fact that the system was giving Sylas this Quest—not only that, but likewise making it a Royal Hero Line Quest, the very first Sylas had ever received... It was like the system was asking to be saved. But that made no sense whatsoever.

Sylas realized almost immediately what he was looking at.

This wasnʼt a Quest from the system at all.

This was a Quest from the God Realm.

This was a Quest from the Gods of the Skai Heaven.

Sylas stared at the Quest for a very long time.

In his time in this world, Sylas had never met a God before. The restrictions on them were probably more than any creature Sylas had ever met. But there was a point where you would reach a level of power that restrictions didnʼt mean much of anything anymore.

Sylas had already met Arcane Madness before, and though he hadnʼt been there to witness it himself, that was an existence that made the system leave him alone despite its attempts to smite him out of existence.

Maybe the Gods werenʼt that powerful, and Arcane Madness was in a tier all his own. But they were certainly within earshot.

What did it mean for them to use the Royal Hero Line to force this Quest?

It was just like the Madness Key and Faneleiʼs projection as a little girl had told him. The Royal Hero Line in the past wasnʼt just a matter of power-it was also a matter of responsibility. Having it meant you needed to perform the feats of a Hero, to do things on behalf of the system to measure up to your status and keep it.

Failing to accomplish this Quest would be like Sylas flushing all his hard work down the drain. It would be giving up his Grimblade Bloodline-or even meaning that it would turn into a curse for him instead, a poison that would weaken his flesh and shatter his bones.

It was such a simple line, just one small description without even a clear goal, and yet it was already taunting him.

He hadnʼt even finished dealing with one problem yet, and another had already come from an even larger fist, an even taller sky, and an even stronger heel.

Sylas reached out and took the reward. It formed into a scroll that landed in his palm. And right at that moment, he smiled.

”Idiots.”

Sylas hadnʼt reacted much when the Multiplier Reward appeared. He hadnʼt laughed at the Menace Reward either. But the words slipped out of him just now.

Maybe it was because of how much pressure he had been under recently. Maybe it was because he had seen the ceiling of the world and detected it hard to take any of this seriously. Or maybe it was because he couldnʼt believe that Gods were truly this idiotic.

But whatever it was, the word couldnʼt have come more from the heart if he tried.

The Thryskai glimpsed a threat. All Sylas saw was information-information he hadnʼt had until they handed it to him on a silver platter.

Sylas didnʼt care about being at a disadvantage. As far as he was concerned, if his opponent didnʼt have a leg up on him, he wouldnʼt have any sort of fun at all. It would be far too easy.

As much respect as Rhykan seemed to have for him, Sylas didnʼt have remotely the same respect for the latter. He hadnʼt grinned when he noticed Rhykanʼs existence. From Sylasʼ perspective, the fact he noticed Rhykanʼs plans in the first place-despite the latter having such a ridiculous advantage-went to show that they werenʼt on the same playing field at all.

If he had been born with the same advantages as Rhykan, this would have never been a battle.

Sure, Sylas was still at a disadvantage now, but this revealed something of invaluable importance to him.

The Seeing Eye Guild...

It was no wonder Rhykan had made the choice to betray him when he had. Rhykan saw the Seeing Eye Guild as a path beyond just Demi-Godhood. He saw them as a path to Godhood itself.

The Thryskai Gods probably didnʼt even see that just yet. Their heads were so high up in the clouds, they were even worrying about a Mortal taking their spot.

But all Sylas could see was new pawns to play.

He turned toward his Titan Reward.