Chapter 862 Dzulum
"Go," Sylas said coldly.
The peacock's wings unfurled, and with a strong flap, it soared into the air.
As expected, the process was far easier than Sylas could have ever anticipated. The gravity was actually targeting his Will specifically.
Still, rather than making him relax, this actually made him several orders more serious. He would have much preferred this to be a blanket gravity situation.
TA.
The peacock landed on the bottom step of the temple. High above, the giant looked down, holding a wooden spear wrapped in golden vines. Its blade was shaped like a large, flat leaf, its body looking almost brittle, as though the slightest pressure at the wrong angle would shatter it to pieces.
Sylas took a deep breath as he unsummoned the peacock.
When he stepped out today, he had one goal in mind. Just one.
Take on the entire burden.
He didn't know what had triggered all of this to happen so quickly, but he knew that Earth wasn't ready for it, and those powerful enough to make an impact likely weren't members of the Overlord Race any longer.
Arcane Madness wouldn't have spoken the way it had if this was going to be a cakewalk, but Sylas had already made his resolve clear during the Destiny Quest.
It didn't matter what challenges he faced or what hell he had to endure—he only had room for a single outcome.
He looked back toward the ground.
By now, they were just tiny dots in the distance, even to his eyes. To them, he must have been hard to spot amidst the flashing golden lights. But they were still looking.
Cassarae, his parents, his little sister, Cassarae's parents…
The people he cared about most in the world, their lives—all of it was riding on him being strong enough.
Sylas looked back at the stairs before him and took a step forward.
There was no more time for him to waste.
A pressure washed over him, and he directly ignored it, taking a second step. By the third step, he hit his top speed, his strides pulsing with power from his heels to his thighs.
BANG!
In an instant, he was at the top of the pyramid, ready for battle. But the giant didn't strike out. Instead, a ripple of majesty emanated from it.
"Welcome, challenger. Complete the trials of this temple and receive your rewards."
The giant then vanished, and the doors behind it slowly opened.
Sylas didn't hesitate, shooting inside.
[Dzulum Minion (FFF+)]
[Level: 45]
—
[Physical: 3777]
[Mental: 3144]
[Will: 998]
—
A jaguar appeared across from Sylas, its fur as white as snow and its spots a gorgeous blue. There was a mane that went down half the length of its back, flickering with the same striking blue.
It half resembled flames or dancing lights.
It was a beautiful creature, but its stats were just as overwhelming as its appearance.
To almost anyone but Sylas, that is.
The creature lunged at Sylas, and a red-gold streak appeared at Sylas' back. He sidestepped with deft agility, grabbing the creature's tail out of the air.
The jaguar yelped as its body stretched taut, but it was already too late.
Sylas swung it once, and it burst into flames. Its body turned to ash before Sylas even finished his swing.
Thoughts swirled in Sylas' mind as he vanished down the maze.
If he continued to rely on the Scorned Wraps, this would surely be very easy. The stats of these creatures were strong, but not strong enough to threaten him.
But Genes were invaluable, even if they were worthless to him right now. Every time he used the Scorned Wraps like this, he was giving up the chance to help raise another warrior.
Although he was right that there was no one who could help him fight these battles… that would only be true if he continued making no attempt to help change things.
Should he be trying to maximize the improvement of those around him? Or should he be trying his best to conserve his own stamina and energy?
Be Strong.
The two words echoed through his ears, and he made his decision.
He couldn't take on the burden of the improvement of others right now. It was too late for that sort of last-second effort.
He rounded a corner, and another jaguar lunged at him.
One would have never guessed by his reaction.
A hand slipped into the jaguar's open maw, grabbing its bottom row of teeth and pulling down hard. His feet pivoted, and his hips twisted.
In a single motion, he threw the beast over his shoulder.
It burst into a rain of ash.
Sylas flipped, twisting in the air and landing facing the same direction he had just been running in. He hit his top speed again in just three steps, bursting forward.
Every creature he came across didn't last a single exchange. One death after another, relentless and ruthless. And yet, there wasn't a single drop of blood left behind.
A sweeping wind was able to erase all the evidence.
'It's going down.'
Sylas could feel the shift in the maze. He was descending.
This was just like the Mountains of Giza all over again.
He had also been trying to map out the regions he was moving through to the map in his head, but nothing was coming. This was indeed not the place.
But this also wasn't enough danger for Arcane Madness to react the way it had. Was the sheer number of challenges the problem? Or was it something else?
Sylas came to a grinding halt.
The sound of water filled his ears as he entered a large underground space, a region he assumed was the very bottom of the temple.
Limestone platforms filled the area, and at the center, the giant that had been at the top of the stairs was there. However, what was odd was that there were many other giants present, each one standing on one of the platforms.
Sylas' eyes flashed. 'Not good.'
The space rumbled, and tattoos began to appear across the bodies of the giants. No, more accurately, the tattoos that were already there began to glow.
The waters churned, and a link was formed between all the giants.
The path between Sylas and the first giant lit up.
Sylas could see through what was happening immediately. The Wills of the giants had all been linked. But now, if he killed one, the power would be shared with all the others.
By the time he got to the final giant, its power might be more than double what Sylas had seen before.
At the same time, Sylas could feel that the link between them was actually giving them a passive healing effect that helped replenish both Will and Aether.
That was when Sylas recalled something. The first giant, Izmat, had nothing but a '—' in place of where his Will stat should have been.
Something told Sylas that he was about to find out exactly why that was.
A cold flicker danced in Sylas' eyes. It seemed that they truly didn't want this to be so easy after all.