This was a positive for Sylas. At the very least, he didn’t have to worry about having a perfect streak of dodges. He could slip up so long as the venom didn’t get into his eyes, and to be on the safer side, he should just avoid all orifices in general.
‘There’s just one more thing I want to practice…’
…
[Spitting Cobra (F-)]
[Level: 1]
[Physical: 33]
[Mental: 47]
[Will: 22]
—
Sylas didn’t immediately rush the snake, circling the grey-and-black-scaled creature.
Then it came. A spurt of green that moved with a swiftness that must have been at least 50 Speed.
Sylas didn’t panic. Reacting to 50 Speed wasn’t an issue for him. His Will swelled up and his Charisma pressed it down onto the world, and at that moment, the line of venom froze in the air.
‘Success.’
Sylas flicked it back at the snake. This obviously wasn’t going to harm it, as it was definitely immune to its own venom. Instead, it was just to prove to himself that he could do it.
The venom moved back. Without Madness activated, his telekinesis could only display around 30 Speed, so the snake was actually able to dodge. However, Sylas followed up with a swift kick that sent it spiralling to the side.
He rushed after it before it could gather itself and grabbed a hold of its neck, squeezing down hard.
Sylas’ telekinesis worked best on items that were exceptionally light. However, even light objects could be hard to control depending on their Speed. For example, Jared’s arrows were far beyond his ability to control with his telekinesis.
However, as he had expected, this venom seemed to be in a sweet spot. It was fast, but it was also so light, and its weight was so spread out, that he could take control of it.
That would only benefit him. Who knew, maybe in the future, when his telekinesis increased in strength, even stopping arrows wouldn’t be impossible.
A dagger flashed out from the Madness Key and severed its head.
Sylas threw the snake into a separate storage device, a new one that he had bought with his funds. The space of the Madness Key was great, but the problem was that anything with Genes that he tossed in there would be swallowed up. The good news was that aside from the Rotten Wolves, it would leave the other corpses behind. So he could at least store large amounts of food. But it was very inconvenient to lose out on certain Genes.
This sort of Intelligence Gene haul was rare and he couldn’t let the Madness Key act as it pleased, especially when absorbing these Genes didn’t allow him to postpone the next Curse activation.
Sylas brought out a bottle of water, another F- treasure that stored far more liquid than it seemed to. This one bottle could produce five liters of water naturally in a 24-hour period. It could store up to 20, but it had the size of a normal half-liter bottle of water.
He took a long drink, then had some lunch. After he felt he was sufficiently rested, he turned his attention to the Dungeon again.
…
Sylas burst out into a sprint. His actions immediately caused a response. Several Spitting Cobras rushed out from the burrows or slithered out from the river to the side, the air suddenly becoming filled with streaks of green.
He had thought about taking a slower, more methodical approach. But the ending of that choice was obvious. He’d find himself surrounded and fighting a prolonged battle. By the time he made it to the Dungeon, he wouldn’t even have the strength left to deal with whatever danger it had available.
He weaved in and out of the rain of venom.
Suddenly, a cobra fell out of the tree, appearing just above his head with its maw opened wide.
Sylas didn’t even look at it, a dagger flashing out from his Madness Key and slicing it in two just as Madness activated.
Shrieks filled the forest floor, and the snakes entered a frenzy. They seemed to forget that Sylas was a common enemy and venom flew in all directions.
Sylas put a dagger away and misdirected a spit of venom that came from his side. With a leap, he shot over a dead and fallen tree trunk, his palm rebounding off of it for just a split moment before he hit the ground on the other side.
‘Big…’
A cobra that was almost five meters long appeared. No, it was more than one.
Sylas had known that the closer he got to the Dungeon, the more powerful these creatures would get. But he didn’t expect to see a Spitting Cobra that put even a King Cobra to shame in size.
—
[Spitting Cobra (F+)]
[Level: 3]
[Physical: 47]
[Mental: 62]
[Will: 37]
—
The cobras rose up, their hoods flaring as they hissed. Then, their venoms shot out like a rain of arrows.
Sylas didn’t try to control the venoms fully, nor did he try to reverse their directions. Instead, he simply misdirected them.
He kept charging forward with his greatest Speed. His mind visualized the area around him, locking onto the flying venoms and only changing their directions slightly. At their Speed, just the slightest deviation sent them flying way off the mark, shooting over Sylas’ head and far wide of his body.
An F+ cobra snapped at him, but Sylas’ dagger appeared once more, driving right into its mouth so hard that it pinned the snake to a nearby tree.
Sylas didn’t even try to pull the dagger back, dodging through a group of behemoth-sized cobras and shooting into the distance.
They were hot on his trail and their Physicals weren’t nearly as weak as the snakes in the outer ring. But by now, Sylas had already laid an eye on the Dungeon.
—
[Basilisk’s Reign (FF+)]
[Level Maximum: 5]
[Entry Limit: 3]
[Recommended: Physical 75; Mental 60; Will 50]
[Description: The King of Snakes is undisputed, regal in their temperament and unopposed in their might. Those who dare step into their domain will show respect or pay for it in kind]
