Chapter 589: Glass [Bonus]
Sylas was intrigued about Alex's plan originally, not because it was overly clever, but because it required something that fascinated him.
Portal prediction.
According to Alex, Legacy had a database of locations portals would appear in as though they had a pulse on the entire world. Of course, it was impossible for one Bronze tier individual like Alex to have access to the full map at all times. But, because he was assigned to this mission, he gained access to information for nearby regions.
Legacy was truly organized.
Alex, being as thorough as he was, caught all the tidbits of information he could and he found something interesting about this portal in particular.
In the future, or maybe in the past, portals like this one would be known as Winking Portals. They were portals that, for whatever reason, weren't particularly stable and could form, deform, and even move within a certain range.
The moment Sylas heard of this, he had a pretty good guess why. This shouldn't be a natural inclination of the system, but rather a product of what happened when the connection points between the Aether Plane and Earth were too forcefully twisted.
This wasn't the portal's natural opening location, so it wasn't stable outside of certain times in the day.
Because of this, even the Africor Continent hadn't yet found this new Winking Portal. But somehow, Legacy had.
Regardless, that wasn't what was important. What was important was the creature on the other side.
The two acted the moment the Winking Portal appeared, vanishing into its fluctuating form.
...
The world on the other side was completely unlike what one might expect.
If Sylas was correct about Winking Portals being the result of two points being too misaligned, then he should have walked into a landscape completely opposite that of the one he had just walked out of.
But instead...
He found yet another world of endless sand.
The deserts of the Africor Continent certainly weren't the only ones on Earth, though. Who was to say that this region wasn't meant to connect to another one of them?
This surprise didn't last for long because of that thought and something else.
Normal sand was mostly a tan grey, but this sand... it was so pale grey that it almost looked white, more like the sand of a tropical beach than one forged for a desert.
And... it was perfectly flat.
Sylas looked above his head to find that clear blue skies above. At least from one angle.
There was a sudden flicker of light that made him realize that there was actually a clear glass dome above his head.
This wasn't a normal landscape. It was a cave.
Sylas was already on high alert, but he raised this alarm in his head even further.
The creature that Alex was targeting should be a Quasi King, and its abilities would be key to giving them an opportunity. But it would be no good if they died first-
The ground rumbled and a sinking sensation came from the grey sand beneath their feet.
Both of them leapt upward at the same time.
Sylas formed a platform of ice with <Surfing Frost> and was instantly surprised that it was so easy. Why was the Ice Aether here in such high concentrations? It wasn't that cold.
Soon he got his answer.
Alex couldn't leap into the skies like he could, but he was swift and agile. The amulet dangled from his neck and began to glow while he took out a large chain.
ROAR!
A scorpion tail suddenly swung for Sylas.
It almost appeared out of nowhere, the carapace of the creature blending into the air as though it wasn't there at all.
'Wow...'
Sylas found himself fascinated. The reason he couldn't see the creature clearly was that it was made entirely of crystal so clear it shone through to the skies.
Or rather... at least this attack of its was.
Sylas' ice platform easily curved around the attack, his body leaning forward and his hips swinging like a true surfer riding a wave.
He landed behind the tail, grabbing onto its body with a hand as black scales erupted across his body.
His torso flexed and his arms bulged with a pulsing might. A green aura erupted across his skin as he activated Aetherflow and one projection of his body after another layered on top of
each other.
Then...
Sylas grunted, his power exploding all at once.
He ripped the creature up and out of the ground, sending it flying toward the glass dome above.
[Glass Monkey (-)]
[Level: 22]
The scorpion tail Sylas ripped out was actually attached to the back of a white-furred monkey.
It wasn't very large compared to other powerful beasts, only around Sylas' height. But it seemed very agitated now that it was out of the ground.
'I see. That makes things easier.'
Sylas' arm flexed and his torso torqued in the skies. Then, as though he was throwing a lance,
he launched the creature right for Alex.
Alex was taken aback. This wasn't part of their original plan. For a moment, he thought that
Sylas had chosen to kill him after all.
But the result was different from his imagination.
The Glass Monkey shrieked out in pain, a horrifying, high-pitched screech filling the air as its tail combusted into ash.
Instantly, the creature was heavily injured. If not for the fact this tail was just an extension of its body, it would have died directly.
Alex blinked in surprise, but his reaction was fast. The chain in his hands shot out and captured the beast. Inwardly, though, his heart was beating fast.
What was that? Was Sylas really so powerful?
That was a Quasi King beast! It was worth a hollow Merit! And he could have killed it just like that? They didn't even need to rely on the amulet very heavily at all. If anything, using the
amulet had made it harder due to the boost in Physical it gave the beasts.
Alex's inner thoughts danced wildly, their truths only known to himself.