Chapter 432: Bloom
Sylas practically glided across the surface of the snow. There was no point in summoning his Blue Cyclone Horse because it was simply too weak. Its maximum Speed wasn't even 400, but his own was now 500.
Plus, this was a good opportunity to get more used to his new stats.
In truth, he didn't have much to get used to at all. After experiencing Extricate on so many Physical and Mental Genes, even if his stats hadn't improved so much, his understanding about body control, and his own sense of self, was far beyond what most people of Earth could even fathom.
Every stride was almost elegant as all the muscles of his body fired in unison. His tendons tensed, the fibers of his body pulsing all at once. Whether it was the pump of his arms or the flex of his ankles as they hit the ground, it was all in perfect harmony.
The same parts of his foot hit the ground again and again, the angle of his arms and the almost careless looseness of his fists didn't shift in the slightest.
He looked like a textbook representation of the perfect run...
And he left a blur in his wake.
Before, it had taken him over a day to make it here even while riding a Mount. But in just a few hours this time, he was already seeing the endless snowy plains wane somewhat.
'The animals have become far more powerful.'
There hadn't been many Level 10 beasts in this region when he first made his way through. They were powerful, like the mammoths, for example. But their Levels weren't particularly high.
However, on the run back, he had seen several above Level 10.
He was eager to know what Level the best of humanity had reached by now. He wouldn't be surprised if it was pushing Level 30, or worse.
And that would certainly make the System City elites even more powerful as a result. After all, their Levels were capped depending on the best Earth had to offer.
Things had gotten more complicated.
This was twice now he had gotten out far ahead, only to be reset by time. And unfortunately, like most things in this world, he couldn't control it.
Still, it gave him confidence. They had a seven-month advantage on him...
And he doubted they could pose a threat at all without their numbers' advantage.
'The Africor Continent Portal should be in that direction,' Sylas thought to himself as he entered the forest of tall evergreens. 'The System City's there, and Lucius' city should be in that direction. They form a triangle between them... if I'm too careless and I run into a no- man's land between them all, it could cause some trouble. But...'
Sylas cut right through.
Although it didn't show on his face, he was feeling a bit antsy. If anything happened to his little sister... truthfully, he wasn't sure what he would do.
Most of the time, he was so even-keeled and nothing fazed him. But it was hard to tell what would happen when he was pushed over the edge.
Sylas' ears twitched as he caught the sound of battle. Without hesitation, he bolted in that direction.
With a leap, he stamped a foot against a tree trunk, shattering its bark before making it to a high branch in a single bound.
He pressed down and leapt to the next tree, leaving a blur of emerald green in his wake as he cut his own weight in half.
His Speed became a fold more Effective as he crossed dozens of meters with single pushes of his leg. The combination of his new Physical stats and more powerful telekinesis was showing their worth in spades.
It took him no more than half a minute to lock onto a battle that had been over a kilometer away. There was no doubt in Sylas' mind that he could easily outpace a vehicle now, and in terms of agility, he would leave one in his dust.
'Bloom.'
It was a queer sort of coincidence, but the first people he ran into were none other than his pair of sibling "handlers."
Bloom brandished her spear, weaving in and out of Mark's defenses while the latter manned his shield.
They were outnumbered, facing off against six opponents. But the opponents themselves were the oddities. That was because they were an odd mix of human look-alikes and demons.
The demons were wolfmen, or werewolves, whichever or how to parse the difference didn't mean much to Sylas. All he needed to know was that they stood on two, digitigrade legs, had the heads of wolves, and thick tufts of fur that formed an almost sharp mane.
And the human look-alikes...
'Sylphs.'
Sylas was very sensitive to their auras now even though they were clearly restrained and in disguise. The slight blue aura he could see coming whenever they used Aether was a dead giveaway.
'And they're over Level 20 now...'
Sylas thought about it for a moment, standing high in the trees. He pressed a palm against the thick bark, steadying himself as the branch beneath him swayed beneath his weight.
He didn't particularly care about Bloom and Mark's life and death. In fact, he had already deduced that Bloom had probably caused more problems for him than not. She had seen through a lot of his secrets ahead of time, and she was clearly a powerful warrior as well as a trusted aid to Lucius.
But on the other hand, he truly wasn't prepared to fall out with the Grimblades yet. At least not until he could find a method to bring his family under Cassarae's care.
Unfortunately, that would be far easier said than done...
Somewhat.
He already had a bit of a plan for that as well, though it would depend on Earth's current situation and how much the Aether Plane had fused with it.
However, as Sylas was thinking, the choice was made for him.
A Sylph suddenly looked up, locking eyes with him and unleashing the fastest arrow he had
ever seen.