Chapter 429: The Last Piece [Bonus]
'Excellent.'
Sylas was happy with the results. At the same time, he was wondering if it was finally about time to invest in improving this Grimblade Lineage he was born with.
No matter what direction his Class was taking him in, because he had Grimblade blood flowing through his veins, he was also aware that the foundation of his body was set in a completely different direction.
After analyzing Nosphaleen's body thoroughly, Sylas realized that the stuff he was playing around with right now was only surface-level. If he truly wanted to reach his highest
potential, he would either need to find methods of digging far deeper than he was now, or he would have to roll with what he was already born with.
For now, he wasn't opposed to doing either.
Although the system said his last name was Grimblade, he had always thought of himself as Sylas Brown.
Still, that didn't mean he was averse to using his Grimblade blood to benefit himself.
Anything otherwise would be the pinnacle of foolishness, and he prided himself in avoiding that sort of thing.
Sylas thought about using his Free Experience points once again before just dismissing the idea and choosing to save them.
Truthfully, he didn't feel the need to upgrade either of the other two for now, and being halfway to his next Taboo Bond upgrade sounded far more appealing.
Instead, he took out the various spatial devices and treasures he had gathered and began to take inventory. It was about time he did so.
After going through everything, he eventually settled on the Level 35 Gene Core.
[Earthbound Serpent (FFF-)]
[Genes Detected]
-
[Silver Genes: (5) Constitution (F)]
[Attempt Assimilation?]
[Yes][No]
'Hm. The system doesn't tell me about Gene Talents until I attempt the assimilation myself. But...'
Sylas reached forward with his senses, activating Madness and <Master Scouting> until he found what he was looking for.
Earthen Roots.
It was another FFF- Gene, and this one was a surprising mirror of Winter's Edge. The function of Winter's Edge was quite simple. It could separate and isolate Ice-related Aether and Runes in the air. And second, it could sharpen them to a point, allowing one to control a blizzard of blades.
Essentially, it automated what Sylas might have to usually do with his Rune Soul, and took a step beyond. It could change the nature of the ice and give it far more piercing power.
If Sylas had to describe it, it was about the same as a Treasure with +50% Piercing power, or in other words, it made Strength about 50% more effective, giving 100 Strength the piercing power equivalent of 150 Strength.
The good of Winter's Edge was that it finally shored up one of Sylas' main weaknesses, that being attack strength...
The bad news was that he could hardly use it for a few seconds.
Originally, he had gotten Winter's Edge as a trump card for this Dungeon, but not everything worked out the way you wanted it to. He ended up faring better when he didn't use it. Though, it had been a bit useful on the Will challenge stairs because of the added control over the Aether in the surroundings. But not being able to use it for long really hampered him.
An FFF- Gene Talent was the equivalent of an FFF- Skill at Legendary Mastery. Winter's Edge also scaled with his Intelligence, which was currently 427. That meant that without any outside input, a single burst of Winter's Edge could easily do about 700 or so Attack Damage. The best part was that it was continuous, doing that kind of damage at least once every couple of seconds. It was even possible that if he mastered it enough to the point he wasn't gasping for breath after a handful of seconds, he might be able to incorporate some poison aspects as well.
Unfortunately, the drawbacks were also obvious and he had a feeling that Earthen Root would be similar.
When he said that Earthen Root was a perfect mirror of Winter's Edge, he meant it. It worked the same, separating the Earth-type Aether from the air and using it. But this time, rather than an act of attack, it was one of defense.
Earthen Root, though, was a little more forgiving. It would add the Earth Aether directly to his Aether skin, and he would be able to maintain it for at least a few minutes at a lower cost than what it would take to trigger it.
However...
'This is the last piece.'
Sylas' Intuition Talent flashed the moment he touched it.
The 450 Capacity Gene Talent Crystal. The Basilisk Skin Armor. This Gene Core.
Those were the three pieces he needed to help the Basilisk King evolve once again.
He had known that he needed just one more piece, but he didn't expect that he would be handed that piece by the enemies of Earth.
Realizing this, Sylas chose to store away the Gene Core instead of absorbing the talent though it would surely help him.
Compared to having this Gene Talent that would have him gasping for breath, what if he could have a Bronze Grade beast to call out to battle with him?
With the increase to his stats, he could definitely fuse with a far more powerful Basilisk King without issues now. And even if he couldn't... if this evolution allowed the Basilisk King to become a Bronze Grade beast, he might not even have to do any fighting personally at all. According to the Madness Key, Bronze Beasts, true ones and not quasi ones like he had fought twice until now, were existences it took entire armies to bring down.
If the Basilisk King became so strong, he wouldn't even need to waste time gathering new creatures to use.
It seemed that he would have to return to Casstle Main first before going back to the
Grimblades.
'That should be everything...'
Sylas looked toward the blooming tree and placed it inside of the Madness Key. Luckily he was
correct and there didn't seem to be any problems. However, he could also tell that the tree
was a bit restrained and suffocated.
'I'll have to find a better vessel for it. Let's go.'
Sylas manipulated the Runes of the bonefire to step out.
But when he did, he found an airship waiting in the skies for him.
Aurion and Aerwyna.