Genetic Ascension

Chapter 376: Change [Bonus]

Sylas’ cool green gaze looked right back at it. The moment he saw that it, too, hadn’t completed its evolution into the Bronze Grade, whatever worry he had vanished into the ether.

‘Let’s fight.’

He didn’t say the words so clearly, but the bear understood them.

Its maw opened wide and a furious roar bellowed out from its chest. Sylas could feel the difference immediately. This was a creature made to howl.

BANG!

The polar bear stomped a foot against the bottom of the icy lake and shot upward. It closed the distance in what felt like a single blink.

Polar bears were exceptionally strong swimmers and had recorded swimming speeds far faster than any known human. Clearly, this mutated version of their lineage was no different.

It swiped down, activating <Arctic Claw>.

A beautiful, crystalline blue hue extended from each one of its claws, slamming down on Sylas from above. Even without using <Master Scouting>, Sylas knew that this attack dealt almost a thousand Damage even without Special Damage factored in.

This creature was a true powerhouse.

—

[Arctic Emperor Bear ( — )]

[Level: 12]

–

[Physical: 732]

>[Strength: 855]

>[Constitution: 903]

>[Dexterity: 570]

>[Speed: 600]

[Mental: 833]

>[Intelligence: 1423]

>[Wisdom: 731]

>[Charisma: 345]

[Will: 811]

—

Its stats could overwhelm General Aleen in several facets despite being less than half the latter’s Level, and that without having completed its evolution, or getting the large boost that came from crossing the Level 20 threshold.

But Sylas was already prepared.

The moment the Arctic Emperor Bear was about to slash down, black scales had already erupted across his body.

—

[Name: Sylas Grimblade]

[Species: Human (F)]

[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]

[Class: Arctic Royal (Fragmented)]

[Profession: Vipermancer (FFF+)]

[Level: 0]

–

[Physical: 452]

>[Strength: 565]

>[Constitution: 648]

>[Dexterity: 291]

>[Speed: 297]

[Mental: 708]

>[Intelligence: 629]

>[Wisdom: 942]

>[Charisma: 553]

[Will: 1453]

[Luck: 22]

—

The claw swiped down with vicious momentum. The bear was enormous, and though smaller than the 20-meter length of the Arctic Emperor Cobra, it was wider and practically brimming with muscles. At five meters from the tip of its nose to its almost invisible tail, it was a truckload of power.

Power that Sylas was ready to handle.

ROAR!

BANG!

Sylas unleashed a bellow, reaching down into the depths of his diaphragm with his intention and activating <Arctic Howl>.

In the depths of this water where the Ice-Poison Aether was so thick and concentrated, the defensive Skill was even more powerful than advertised. But the same was also true of the polar bear Emperor’s claw.

There was a strong rebounding force and Sylas went flying upward. At the same time, the Arctic Emperor Bear froze for a moment beneath the new effects of his Skill.

A pillar of water broke the surface of the lake and Sylas found himself flailing a bit.

He had still underestimated the power of the bear. Although he had had the intention to use its power to retreat, the result was still beyond his expectation. However, his expression didn’t change in the slightest.

His gaze flashed with a blue light and he poured his Aether into his next Skill.

<Arctic King’s Domain>.

His Ice-Poison Damage would be useless against the Arctic Emperor Bear, but he wasn’t using this Domain for the usual reasons.

Just as he finished deploying the Skill, the Arctic Emperor Bear rushed out of the water, its roar causing both the cobras and polar bears alike to shiver.

‘The result is as expected.’

Sylas wasn’t talking about his Domain just yet, but rather the reaction of the others. He originally planned to retreat if he met the Arctic Emperor Bear, but after seeing the reaction of the Arctic King Cobras, he changed his mind.

There was a chance to use his Tamer status here to his advantage. So he would take it.

That was when his second plan kicked in. The bear might have been immune to Ice-Poison, or more accurately, it was immune to Ice-Poison of this Skill’s level. But now that Sylas’ Domain had spread, all of the Runes in the area were under his control.

The root purpose of a Domain Skill was to cast some sort of control over a large area, and when that was taken to a logical extreme… it meant one very simple thing.

The Arctic Emperor Bear could no longer cast Ice-Poison Skills. And at the same time, Sylas’ own Ice-Poison Skills became more powerful.

On cue, the Arctic Emperor Bear tried to cast <Chilling Claw> again, only for the familiar blue scythes that once extended from its fingers to barely manifest at all.

By this point, Sylas had already landed on the raging water’s surface again. He shot forward, completely ignoring the claw that wouldn’t form and unleashing a fist right into the bear’s snout.

The Arctic Emperor Bear’s head shook in a hint of disorientation, but a second fist hit in quick succession, then a third.

Its claw slammed down, hitting nothing but air and water. By then, Sylas had already rounded to its side, unleashing another barrage of punches.

It felt as though he was hitting a steel wall, but the depth of blazing Will in his eyes only seemed to grow.

Having this sort of power in your hands, this sort of control…

It was completely intoxicating.

Right now, Sylas’ telekinesis could exhibit 981 points of Strength. When he used Basic Aetherflow, it was forced into an average with his Base Strength, but even then it was able to give him more than an additional 200 points of Strength. On top of that, there was still his now FFF+ Boxing Comprehension for another addition +60% on top of that.

However, that averaging of Strength only happened when he attacked from a distance. When he attacked with his fists directly, it was a different matter entirely.

This sort of power was something that even the Arctic Emperor Bear had simply never experienced before. Every punch reverberated through its body and the sound of cracking ribs and rendered flesh echoed through the valley.

DOOM. DOOM. DOOM. DOOM. DOOM.

Without its Ice-Poison control, the bear lacked even the Skill to keep up with Sylas. Its body was being shredded apart piece by piece.

It was then the situation changed.