An odd energy circulated through Sylas’ mind and clashed against an invisible barrier. His brain felt like a mushy mess, and he had no doubt that the ringing and rebounding energy in his skull was going to cause a concussion.
However, what he didn’t expect was that served with his concussion would be an opportunity.
If Sylas hadn’t had the Dual Class Constitution, his mind wouldn’t have nearly the elasticity it needed to break past this barrier. However, after forming the Dual Class Constitution, he was already close to breaking free of this barrier.
And now that there was a sudden force against it…
His Will broke through the 999 mark and entered the quadruple digits.
But not only did it do this, it kept surging upward, moving faster and faster until…
—
[Your Will has reached 1999]
[Gene-Stat Limit Reached. Absorb a Silver Will Gene to increase your Will further]
—
Sylas hardly had time to view this message before he fell to a knee. His head felt like it was ringing, and he was forced to gasp for breath. He had been so focused on breaking free that he had practically shut down all the other functions of his body. Even the attention he had for breathing was completely disregarded.
White noise played in his ears and blood leaked down his nose.
Even as he slowly regained control over himself, he felt disjointed and unorganized, not just in his thoughts, but also…
Sylas tried using his telekinesis only to find that it was completely unbalanced.
Telekinesis was formed of a combination of Will and Charisma. But what Sylas never considered was what would happen if one stat was far greater than the other.
‘A bottleneck…’
Even without Madness, with 1999 Will, he should be able to exhibit 285 points of Physical with his telekinesis. With Madness, his telekinesis should be at 1050 points of Physical. But right now it felt like there was only a marginal increase to his telekinesis’ Strength, almost as though his Will hadn’t improved at all.
Sylas forced himself to stand, his legs feeling a bit shaky beneath him as though he was standing on a boat.
His concussion was bad, and he was finding it difficult even to think properly.
He dragged himself to the more secure room in the entire city, shut the doors, activated the formations, and then directly passed out.
Right now… he needed sleep.
**
In a distant, unknown location, there was a sea of red. It didn’t feel like a sinister red and almost felt clear, almost as though this location had different laws that allowed water to radiate something other than its usual blue hues.
The sea sparkled, reflecting like rubies, but when a wave kicked up, one would realize two things…
First, that it was far more viscous than it seemed like it should be, and second…
That the smell of blood and rotten flesh was in the air.
The moment the red waters moved, it was as though the thin film of protection holding the odor back was disrupted, assaulting one’s nose until it burned.
And yet, deep within these foul waters, a man that looked more skeleton than not opened his eyes.
‘My Seed… it’s only half taken root? Where…?’
The man tried to grasp a location only to find that he couldn’t.
‘A scheme? It’s possible. Plenty of powers might want to take advantage of my hard work, and it seems they’ve found a good seedling to do so… Time will tell…’
The man fell back into silence. However, around his neck, a familiar item swayed in the thick waters.
Madness Key.
**
Sylas woke up slower than he was used to. He still didn’t feel like he was in the best of conditions, but he certainly didn’t feel terrible either.
He blinked several times, pushing himself up.
‘My heart rate… it’s too fast…’
Even before the Summoning, Sylas’ resting heart rate was excellent, nearing that of top athletes. It had been just shy of the 40s, remaining firmly in the low 50s.
After the Summoning, his heart rate only got better, though only marginally so. While his heart was getting healthier, the demands his body had of it were likewise higher. So, his heart rate had only just dipped into the high 40s.
For context, on average, a normal human before the Summoning was probably around 60 to 100 beats a minute, and the average was about the same now, though with a slight tick down with everyone being more active.
But therein lay the problem. Right now, Sylas’ heart rate was double what it should be at over 90, and that was despite the fact he had only just gotten up. He didn’t believe he had a bad dream either; he hadn’t woken up in a cold sweat. So why was his heart beating so fast?
Sylas didn’t have an accurate measurement, but he also didn’t need one. Double the speed was so obvious there might as well be a signboard in front of him.
He felt calm; his body didn’t feel tired, so that could only mean that…
‘The Seed…’
There was an unknown pressure on his body now, one that was making him subconsciously have to work a lot harder.
He couldn’t help but wonder what he had gotten himself into. He didn’t even truly understand the Gluttony Seed, and the Madness Key certainly wasn’t going to answer his questions about this Taboo. Now he had a second, and it seemed to be tainted in a way he didn’t understand.
Sylas knew that he couldn’t just leave it in his body and ignore it. If it was going to be a ticking time bomb, he might as well set it off now while he was well-rested.
So, it didn’t take more than a moment for him to pull on the Greed Seed with his intention, trying to get an understanding of it.
The Gluttony Seed could increase the weight limit of his telekinesis. Could the Greed Seed do the same?
The moment Sylas tried, there was an attack on his mind. Though much milder than the past, and something he could easily shrug off, it still made him frown.
At the same time, the Greed Seed combined with his telekinesis to form a strong suction force.
‘Hm?’
It felt like the Greed Seed wanted to swallow something… but what was it looking for?
That was when Sylas’ gaze flickered with a realization.
