Sylas was absolutely relentless in his pursuit of power. As he improved rapidly, he vaguely began to understand that it wasn’t just a matter of
The biggest reason for all of this was because of his Legendary Path.
His sensitivity to Genes, their movements, what influences they had on his body, and how his body integrated with them… that sixth sense of sorts had all come from his experiences with Extricate.
He had attempted a fusion with all of the Physical Genes several times more than he could even count, and it was in part due to these experiences that he had managed to improve
Part of the reason Sylas had held back on using the Fusion Crystal for so long wasn’t just because he didn’t have the time to “train,” but he also felt that it would take a lot of effort and time.
As a man of Earth, he was well-versed in the fact it took boxers and other martial artists years, decades even, to hone their craft.
But he had neglected one important thing…
This was no longer the normal world. There were shortcuts to be taken, and not taking advantage of them because of some assumptions about olden, outdated ideals…
Having reached this point in his thoughts, Sylas took out a Gene Core.
His body couldn’t absorb any more Bronze Genes, but he had upgraded his Extricate talent, and now he could even use it on Silver Genes. Since he gained so much even by failing to fuse with Genes… what was the harm if he failed on purpose a few times?
A part of him wanted to keep these Gene Cores because he needed 198 Bronze Genes no matter which of the three paths he took. But 198 was such a large number that hoarding them now might actually hinder him.
If it was the rarer Mental Genes he had in his possession, then he might hesitate to use them so wantonly. But the sperm whales all had just one or two Strength Bronze Genes. The Arctic King Cobras were similar, only having one or two Constitution Genes.
It was worth it.
Sylas’ mind went blank for a moment as he plucked out the Gene and pressed it into himself.
The Runes of a Bronze Gene were far more complete. Sylas would have analyzed them, but even trying made his head hurt. It was clear that the gap between Runes of this caliber and ones that he had used in the past was far too vast. He would definitely need to upgrade Enchanted Scholar if he wanted any chance at that.
But that was a matter for another time.
The moment the Gene burst apart, Sylas began nipping at the edges. The insights flooded into his mind, and even though he had failed to take them in this time, he felt an overwhelming sense… as though his Wisdom was still too low to grasp it all.
The gap between a Bronze Gene and a Common Gene was far larger than even he expected. But the good news was that he had six Bronze Strength Genes and more than a dozen Constitution Genes.
Truthfully, he expected far more out of the Strength Genes. They didn’t just teach him how to increase his Strength, but more importantly, how to use it more efficiently. The more he caught these faint insights, the more he felt that there was so much more to learn about Strength control.
By the time he had already “absorbed” all the Strength Genes he had, Sylas thought through many of the bottlenecks that he had already come to reach.
He punched out but shook his head a moment later.
After adjusting himself, he tried again. This time, there was a strong force that came from his legs and one could almost see the power transferring from his lower body to his fist.
The sound of whipping fabric echoed as his fist stopped in the air. Behind them, his eyes glowed as he seemed to have grasped something.
‘I really want to see what the Speed and Dexterity Genes can bring me. They should be able to help greatly as well…’
[Dormant Comprehensions]
[>Boxing (FF+)]
[>Taekwondo (FF)]
[>Muay Thai (FF)]
[>…]
[>Mixed Martial Arts (-)]
[>…]
[>Blazing Will (-)]
After those six Strength Genes, he had improved again. He had noticed a noticeable decrease in improvement speed after he reached the double F Grades. But this blew right by that.
Although he was a little less excited for what Constitution would bring him, Sylas still felt that it was irresponsible to not at least try first.
He had only been in this world for a short time, but he had already noticed that there were some great overlapping factors between different stats. It would be too stupid of him to not even try.
The actual result, though… floored him.
Sylas pressed the Constitution Gene into his chest. It shattered apart in a rain of Runes and bronze lights.
The insights came slowly before they started rumbling forward like an endless tide.
Sylas stood in a daze for a long while, a while that lasted even longer than it had for the Strength Genes. He felt like several things were consolidating and his thoughts were becoming sharper and faster.
When his eyes cleared up, an understanding dawned on him.
Constitution wasn’t just related to how hard a person’s skin and bone were, but it was an overall assessment of how well-oiled the body was.
Flexibility actually fell mostly beneath the umbrellas of Constitution rather than Dexterity like one might think. If Strength decided how strong you were, Constitution decided how easily you could deploy that Strength, through what range of motions, and through what positions.
The moment Sylas absorbed a single one, everything collapsed and his foundation was rebuilt, his insights being reshaped in real-time.
