Genetic Ascension

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Sylas had been ready for another epic battle, so this could be said to be the last thing he had expected. All this for a Fragmented Quest? It felt… odd. Was he missing something? He felt that it was almost certain that he was.

But how was he supposed to awaken the pride of a beast without intelligence? Also, what about his Dungeon rewards? If he killed this beast, wouldn't that mean that he failed the quest?

The Basilisk King simply lay there, its former golden glow gone. It looked like a normal black snake now, its crimson eyes the only thing that remained special about it.

Sylas' frown deepened, not liking what he read.

Giving up an FF+ Dungeon's rewards for a Fragmented Quest sounded foolish. Why would the system want him to do such a thing? It felt like an insult to his intelligence.

'Wait…'

Sylas' brows furrowed.

The rankings systems of this world just felt so… arbitrary and out of place so often.

Why were some things ranked with the Fragmented to Legendary grades, while others used F- to FFF+. Was there an important distinction between them?

'This isn't the only odd thing… According to this system, Brant is already an FF, but is there really so little room to grow between this stage and the pinnacle of humanity?'

From his understanding, Skills, Comprehensions, Titles and even his overall battle prowess were ranked from F- to FFF+. Sylas had never even checked to see what level the system would rate him at… but he honestly didn't think it particularly mattered. If he could see a person's stats, did he need to care about their grade?

Or was he looking at all of this wrong to begin with?

Sylas hesitated. Once again, he didn't want to use the Madness Key. Before, asking a question just meant casually using some extra Genes that weren't of much use to him outside of the latent potential they provided. But now, things were different. All of his stats showed up, and every question he asked was another hit to them.

Brant might very well have other companions waiting on the outside. He had to be as strong as possible to deal with them, especially if they had a numbers advantage.

Although he had thought about questioning Brant about this sort of stuff, he also realized that he had no way of confirming whether the man was telling the truth or lying. It was best to go into the situation as on guard as possible. Even if there was an insurmountable challenge waiting, learning about it or not wouldn't help. In fact, any information Brant did tell him might bias his mind in the wrong direction.

This was all to say that he felt a strong resistance toward using the Madness Key right now.

Plus, this was a question that seemed to be related to the system… and it really didn't like it when he asked questions like that.

Some things were fine, but it seemed that he could easily step over a Taboo as well, and by then he'd find himself feeding it more than the five Genes he already owed it a day.

Sylas took a breath and exhaled. He closed his eyes for just a moment before opening them again.

He was allowing himself to be overwhelmed, and there was no need. Maybe there was a rational explanation that he was missing.

'What do use the Fragmented to Legendary system? There are Classes, Skill Mastery, Quests and Genes. Everything else seems to use—'

Sylas' eyes narrowed. No, there really was no rhyme or reason. He couldn't find a common link between them at all. If there was an easy to find connection, he would have long since stumbled upon it naturally.

'Why am I getting stuck in this quagmire? This is about the beast and whether I should accept its Quest or not.'

Sylas hesitated again. But then, he made a decision, and as per usual, he didn't second guess it.

He brought out the Madness Key.

This situation was too important. Even if it came back to bite him, even the act of touching upon a Taboo might give him some information he might need in the future. Who knew? Maybe it would penalize him and then answer anyway like it had the first time.

He took out a gnoll corpse and absorbed the Genes within it. Each one had three Strength and three Constitution Common Genes. He managed to successfully absorb two Strength and one Constitution.

He allowed the Madness Key to suck up the extra Genes and asked a question at the same time, hoping that the wasted Genes would actually come to benefit him this time.

Luckily, his gamble worked. Although he had lost a convenient sacrifice for the Madness Key, he had at least benefited some… for now.

[What is the significance of the F- to FFF+ rating versus the Fragmented to Legendary rating system?]

[During the Fragmented Era—]

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The notification glitched. It felt like sunlight spawned right into Sylas' eyes and a burning sensation ran through his senses as though trying to sear his mind out of existence.

---

[Question has touched upon a Taboo. Glutton Curse activated. Hunger has increased.]

---

Sylas cursed.

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[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 <1 Common> Gene]

[Curse Status: Glutton. <10 Common> Genes a day to maintain Happiness. Requirements grow by the day. <7 days> remaining until Hunger increases]

[Curse Status: Cannot be unequipped]

---

A mysterious power descended, and the glowing green veins of the Dungeon actually seemed to stabilize. Sylas felt his heart seize. It had truly stopped beating entirely. A cold chill spread through his veins, but at that moment, the Madness Key quivered his warmth returned.

The devastating power dispersed, and then, to his surprise, the Madness Key answered the question.

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