Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1712 No Different

Sylas didn't respond to the question, his gaze shifting as it landed on the half-naked woman by Salivar's side. There was something odd about her as well, something that went beyond the chain and choker, of course.

But she was also far too powerful, being someone in the B-tier. While it was also odd that someone of the B-tier would be led around like a dog by an E-tier, it wasn't what had caught Sylas' attention either.

He assumed this was just the way of the world. There were any number of ways that a person like Salivar would end up with such powerful slaves, none of which had anything at all to do with his own power.

Then Sylas understood.

A sacrifice.

There was a linkage between Salivar and this woman, one that was incredibly subtle. It was formed through Will.

She was there as a sacrificial puppet in case Salivar bit off more than he could chew. The question was, what would he need her for? It certainly wasn't because any of them contemplated that he would lose to him.

In that case, it should be because Salivar was about to do something that they believed would put him in danger. And if that danger wasn't Sylas, then it could only be one thing: The system.

Considering Salivar was an E-tier, it didn't take a genius to piece together the rest of the issue.

"A bit cowardly," Sylas finally said after he finished looking the woman up and down.

Of all the words Salivar had expected to hear, these were the very last. He froze for a moment, and then his eyes slowly narrowed.

Salivar suddenly chuckled, his laughter growing louder until it was an all-out force of his thrumming belly. His muscles rippled and the golden etchings across his body grew more prominent as the faint image of a golden, ancient tree appeared behind him, looming over in what would have almost been menace if it didn't make all those under its influence feel so free and good.

The woman by Salivar's side, the closest to the effects, even began to redden a bit, her body squirming.

"Woo," Salivar sighed, patting his stomach with a satisfied rush of air. "A good laugh, a good laugh indeed. I guess it does take a madman to do something like this. I've changed my mind. None of the rest of you are participating. This is mine."

Salivar's voice grew darker and darker until the once golden tree became a dense sea of black.

WHOOSH.

A strong pulse of wind forced Sylas a step back, and then a second. The rest of the F-tiers were sent flying off their feet, slamming against walls and pillars as they coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

What was clear to Sylas, though, wasn't that this was because he was stronger than those other F-tiers-certainly not in such short order. The reason was because Salivar was smart enough to know that if he attacked Sylas with his E-tier strength now, the Quicktime Event could be lost.

This was nothing more than the residual aftereffects of Salivar's rush of aura, and it wasn't even focused on him. In fact, it split around him on purpose... And yet he had still been forced back like this.

Salivar's aura began to plummet. The golden tree-turned-black faded as it was sucked into his body. Several golden etchings on his body began to fade from gold to black as well, and then, as though chained into the depths of his soul, their aura vanished as though they weren't there at all.

"I've never gotten to use this ability in public before. You should consider yourself to be experiencing the luck of a lifetime."

Salivar's body rumbled and some of his etchings began to turn crimson.

His aura of an E-tier completely vanished as his hair became akin to a sea of endless blood, flowing like a river.

In contrast to his greyish-green skin, it made him look particularly demonic.

Touching onto the essence of the F-tier, Salivar instantly became little different than a Level 50. But without a shadow of a doubt, he was the strongest Level 50 that Sylas had ever faced off against like this.

BANG.

Sylas took another heavy step back, his bones creaking. Even Salivar's aura just felt like too much.

"You are... so unbelievably weak," Salivar said slowly, his silk robes dancing no less wildly in the winds than the hair to his back and the chains of the woman to his side.

Sylas didn't respond. His expression didn't seem even capable of giving way to any of his internal thoughts. If anything, he was only becoming calmer and calmer.

This... was going far easier than he thought it would.

Accounting for several powerful opponents at once would be troublesome. But just a single one...

The math was much easier, no matter how powerful Salivar was.

In a one-on-one battle with another F-tier, Sylas was sure to find a way to win. He had an undying belief in himself.

A rainbow-gold Will thrummed around him, beginning to form like a heavy fog.

Chi.

The sound of glass breaking echoed as the Seeing Eye Guild trembled. Runes flashed into being on the ground, and the pillars began to rumble and quake.

Reality began to quickly fold in on itself as though it was formed of puzzle pieces until the two young men were swallowed whole.

Soon, reality began to unfold, and the result was the two of them standing nearly side by side, facing off against a maze of emerald crystals.

If Salivar could have just killed Sylas directly, he would have. But unfortunately, the context of the Quicktime Event was surrounding the parameters of Sylas challenging their Guild's entrance exam. Meaning... This would be their battlefield.

But that didn't matter to Salivar in the slightest. There was no such thing as a guild exam without danger.

Sylas' experience with the Weaver Guild had ended early, but there was a reason Fanelei had said that Leia could use it as an opportunity to kill him if she wished.

This would be no different.