Chapter 669: Wanted
Sylas felt that so long as he chose one of these other several dozen hubs, his Will would instantly be transported there, and then his body would soon follow.
Unfortunately, all Sylas could tell was that the city was vast, but he couldn't pick up on any other important information. But what he did know for certain... was that this city was beyond any sort of human ingenuity that Sylas had ever laid eyes on. It made the hidden Dogon city he had stumbled upon before feel like a primitive wasteland.
Just what was this place?
Sylas couldn't help himself and he vanished. But what he found on the other side left him completely floored.
...
Sylas stood in front of a building of crystalline glass. Its walls seemed more sandy than not, formed of a grainy version of the silvery-blue sands that could be found on the outside. But it was also covered in a much clearer material as well, like a refined version of the Glass element.
The building was half this grainy texture and half this beautiful crystalline glass, forming an array of silvery-blue that was a cross between making one squint at the brightness and making one feel like they were being warmly invited.
However, the oddity of the material was only one aspect of it all. The other was that the architecture felt like it had come from the future, and... it was simply enormous.
Sylas had stood beneath tall skyscrapers before, but this felt like it was truly on another level. It felt less like a manmade structure, and more like a feat of mother nature, like he was staring at the form of a mountain that had loomed for thousands of years.
The architecture had an odd flow to it, opting for soft curves instead of the sharp edges and corners of a modern building. There were countless archways and looping structures, some sections even looking like water flowing from a cliff, while others were like flowery petals blooming for others to see.
All the while, Sylas felt like he was craning his neck just to look straight up and yet not see its very peak.
And yet...
None of that felt even remotely important given what was before him.
A City Stele.
It floated in the middle of the archways and there was a constant flow of Aether coming from it that seemed to feed into the city around it directly.
Somehow, the City Stele felt like it was the heartbeat of the city, a part of it in a way that Sylas had never experienced anywhere else, not even in System Cities.
System Cities felt robotic and almost inorganic in a way that this City Stele very much was not.
Sylas reached forward and tried to touch the City Stele despite the oddly far distance that separated them. He didn't even know why he had, it was like something was calling him to it.
But the moment he even had the thought and his hand had barely raised, spikes of danger practically drilled themselves into his mind.
Sylas froze immediately, stopping his actions.
He took a breath, settling himself down. There was something about this city that was tugging at his heartstrings in ways he couldn't explain. Somehow, he felt both at home and like he was a foreigner. He couldn't quite square the two emotions.
[What is this place?]
Sylas thought that he might as well try and ask the Madness Key, but then he recalled that he had no Genes left to give. The hoard of beasts that he had gathered had been unfortunately wiped clean.
But there was some good news... the Madness Key didn't seem resistant to answering. If only he could find some Genes to make use of.
Sylas looked beneath his feet finally to find that he was standing on a platform. After some thought, he poured his Will into it one more and vanished.
When he appeared again, he was standing in a new location. This time, he hadn't picked the center of the city, but a random new location, and the result was finding himself in an odd garden of silver and blue plants.
[Glass Weed (FF+) (Aether Herb)]
[Increase Glass Aether accumulation speed by +50%]
[Duration: 1hr]
Sylas randomly used <Master Scouting> on one of the many things around him, not expecting to actually find something quite interesting.
He almost moved from the platform again, only to feel yet another spike of danger.
This one was much weaker than the spike he had felt when he reached out the City Stele before, but it was there nonetheless, making him frown.
Would there be danger no matter where he went in this place?
...
Sylas appeared in a new location only to find yet another odd place.
This one was surrounded by statues carved from what looked like a cross of ice and glass, taking the forms of all creatures.
Sylas used <Master Scouting> again, only to be rebuffed and not find anything at all.
'Last time <Master Scouting> was only capable of picking up a response from the Glass Weed plant, obviously one of the weakest Aether Herbs there, and now this...'
There was a moment of distraction while Sylas thought about this. He realized that he needed
a new scouting Skill as quickly as possible. Its limitations were starting to appear more and more frequently these days.
'Hm?'
Sylas' eyes landed on a glass statue of a Serpentes and his mind trembled.
'An unknown mutated Serpentes... I see.'
For the first time, Sylas got real information about this place.
It was a Beast Training Facility of a City. It was similar to a Den, except for the fact that the City Lord had to produce the creatures themselves, and the Beast Tamers spawned by the Facility would nurture the beasts down a path unique to the Facility.
Much like how Fortress Treasures could change the affinity of spawned militiamen, so too could this Beast Training Facility do the same for compatible Dens placed within its territory.
And this Serpentes... Sylas wanted it.