Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1518 Hot Hand [Bonus]

[Bonus thanks to trippelstabb. Just wait till I triple stab you. One for each of your precious jewels and I'll save the last for after I find what remains with a microscope] Sylas could still remember the feeling of that knight standing above him. It didn't feel real, and yet it had made him feel so small nonetheless. Even now that he had overcome it, it was almost like facing that entity was akin to facing the smallest piece of a small piece of something impossibly large.

“What is Champion Will?" Sylas asked the little girl.

He felt the Taboo coming before he even finished; however, he completely ignored the penalty.

The little girl was different from the Madness Key of the past, and his Madness Disciple Tier was on a completely different level as well.

Before the little girl awakened, the Madness Key would shut down the moment a Taboo was touched. However, the little girl was more flexible than the Madness Key alone.

Even if she was still restricted and was limited in what she could say, Sylas bet that she could still say a small bit.

In addition, the higher his Madness Disciple Tier, the more resistant it was to the Taboo —meaning, the threshold for triggering a Taboo was much higher.

On the one hand, for Champion Will to still be considered a Taboo even though he was a Tier Five Madness Disciple meant that it was something truly shocking.

But on the other, he was more equipped to deal with a Taboo now than ever before.

The little girl frowned.

[Question has touched upon a Taboo. Glutton Curse activated. Hunger has increased.] [Madness Key (Treasure)]

A key leading to a fortune of Madness. Detects other Madness Disciples and enlightens your path. Contains small spatial world within. Can answer one question in exchange for <10 Legendary> Genes.

[Curse Status: Glutton. <100 Legendary> Genes a day to maintain Happiness. Requirements grow by the day. <7 days> remaining until Hunger increases.] [Curse Status: Cannot be unequipped]

Sylas didn't even flinch when he saw the new Curse Status of the Madness Key.

One Legendary Gene, two, ten, a hundred, thousands... it didn't feel like much more than a wave of a hand to him anymore. Plus, he also knew that he could easily wipe the slate clean so long as he progressed to the next tier of Disciple.

This wasn't all that fun for the little girl, though. Any Genes that went toward maintenance obviously didn't go to her. In fact, the more you needed to keep the Madness Key happy, the more oppressed she felt.

Somehow... she was also certain that Sylas had likewise figured this out.

It was an insane method maybe only a rare few Madness Disciples could use. And even part of those thoughts was just the little girl believing that Sylas couldn't possibly be that much of an anomaly.

But if she was honest... even if it was possible, she didn't personally know of anyone who could draw Legendary Genes with a wave of a hand. At most, she had heard of such people through legend.

The trouble was that this method would only work if you could draw Legendary Genes of your own tier. The moment Sylas progressed to E-tier, the Madness Key would start asking him for E-Grade Genes. At that point, if he touched on a Taboo like this one, he would be completely finished.

She bit her teeth, realizing that she was stalling in her distaste.

"I can't say much. Champion Will is a devouring sort of Will, one that is amongst the family of momentum. It could be said that your Conquest Title is an attempt to manifest artificially what Champion Will is innately.

"Have you heard of the concept of a "hot hand"? I've seen your culture on Earth, so you have some understanding of it if you've ever been into sports. Every culture across the entire universe has some form of it.

"Essentially, it's momentum incarnate. The more you succeed, the more likely you are to succeed again."

Sylas' eyes flashed. Not long ago, he had had to kill members of the Ravult Race. Weren't they a group of people who could gather momentum during battle, growing stronger the more injuries they suffered and the longer the battle went on?

But they were so weak. How could these two concepts be the same? There was something he was missing.

“In your Earth's game of basketball, when a shooter shoots and makes a shot, they are more likely to make the next. The more they make in a row, the greater the percentage boost."

Sylas shook his head.

“It's not that simple," he refuted. "For one, there's a limit. The percentage doesn't increase infinitely. And second, it depends on the player and their psychology. Theoretically, if you have someone who is completely unbothered by win or loss, their percentages would be robotically consistent no matter what."

Clearly, Sylas felt he was the latter. He wasn't swayed by such things. When he succeeded, his psychology didn't change because he already expected himself to succeed.

But all of this wasn't the core point at all. Instead, he was trying to understand just what the little girl was getting at.

“It's just an example. Since you understand the concept already, there really isn't much else I can tell you. I can only tell you that the Dauntless Spirit Title once attached to your Royal Hero Line was actually quite good. Your Primus Imperium Conquest Title was even better, so it shattered it. Your Champion Will, though... well, it can be superior to Primus Imperium—it really depends.

"You'd have to win first.

"Primus Imperium will be strong no matter what. It triggers automatically the moment the system feels you've reached a certain threshold and is constantly tested to prove it wrong.

"One's Champion Will, though... it is mimicked by a lot of things, but it is singularly unique in its existence. It is one of a kind. But... I would be careful if I were you."

Sylas' brows furrowed. He was still confused, an emotion he rarely experienced. Yet, the longer he stood there in silence, the sharper his gaze slowly became.