Genetic Ascension

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Until now, Sylas had refrained from scanning them. If he continued to do so in a situation like this one, he would be more than a little suspicious. At that point, they would wonder about what he was hiding.

The fact his scan had failed was enough for them to move him up a tier of confidence.

Both siblings turned back towards the rapidly approaching compound, and Bloom spoke.

"We will protect your safety."

"How?" Sylas asked, coming to a stop.

The two continued to rush forward.

"We are Level 9's, no one here can threaten us. Let's go."

Sylas' eyes narrowed. 'As expected, they don't know I saw their Level already. It seems I made a good decision not using Madness.'

After some hesitation, Sylas continued to rush after them. Maintaining his skepticism, he kept his kunai close to his body. Usually, they would be surging ahead to protect the two, but since they were supposedly going to protect his safety, he left it up to them and observed.

Bloom pulled her spear from her back and Mark's shield erupted with a surging light.

A group of special ops rushing out of the building were blown back by a shockwave.

Bloom pressed a foot into the ground, her body bending almost like a bow before she erupted with more speed than Sylas had ever seen from her.

Right then, he felt her Comprehension more clearly than ever before. The spear became like an extension of her arm, its blade controlled as deftly as her fingers.

The special ops didn't get the chance to stand from the ground. A single pierce struck their throats from afar, an odd, sharp, Aether energy curving through the skies like shooting stars beneath the night sky.

The duo were a pair of wrecking balls. They passed the baton back and forth seamlessly, each one taking a chance at the vanguard. Mark displaced the enemies, shattering their momentum, and Bloom dealt the killing blow every time.

Sylas really didn't have to do a thing. He followed after them like a child being babysat. There wasn't even the slightest fluctuation that managed to reach him. Other than the cool night breeze that blew through the blown-open, heavy metal doors, even his clothing wasn't ruffled.

It also made him realize something.

The Quest he had gotten that required defeating an expert 15 Levels above him… that was no joke at all.

He had begun to take skipping Levels to do battle for granted. But just yesterday he had almost lost his life to a Level 7, and now he was seeing the strength of a pair of Level 9's that weren't even rated at the FFF- grade.

Then there was the fact at Level 10, there was a qualitative change due to the addition of Classes. Whatever he was seeing here was probably just the tip of the iceberg of what was possible.

Sylas' thoughts shifted. '… I have to find a path for my Gene Crystal as soon as possible…'

Whether it was to protect himself in the face of these powerhouses, to keep up with the Madness Key's hunger, or to ensure the future of his family…

He had to get stronger. Fast.

The inside of the compound looked like a metal-work factory. It was littered with heavy machinery, and heat billowed out in waves, clashing with the cold night air.

The pair of siblings seemed to know exactly where they were going.

The sun had already set, so the workers were long gone. But that was what was so odd. There were no workers, the factory looked like a normal factory as well… so what were they guarding?

The concentration of special ops was far higher on the perimeter. The further they traveled, the fewer of them there were.

Bloom and Mark made it to a steel door, which the latter kicked down with a boot.

A harsher wave of heat came at them and a steep set of metal stairs appeared in front of them.

Mark took the vanguard and Bloom followed up after a glance toward Sylas.

The look seemed to say that this was where the real mission began, but one way or another, Sylas could only follow.

An uncomfortable sweat began to build on his body. Breathing in the air was becoming laborious and it must have been at least 50 degrees Celsius if not worse.

'There's a glow coming from them,' Sylas noticed.

The sibling duo was covered in a hardly perceptible sheen of silvery blue.

'Aether?'

They were using the Aether to protect themselves from the heat. Sylas wasn't sure if it was a Skill, or if it was something else. For now, he soldiered through.

Mark landed below and kicked out. The door he faced this time was several levels thicker and more reinforced. But Sylas sensed the activation of a Skill and his foot was suddenly surrounded by a rush of Aether.

BOOM!

The door's core mass caved in, crumpling like aluminum foil before it flew off its hinges.

'That's right,' Sylas thought to himself, 'the sheen of Aether on them can't be a Skill or else I would have sensed it interface with the surrounding Aether. It must be a special application of the energy…'

He wouldn't have noticed this if not for his Extricate experiment last night, but now he was certain.

The heat suddenly became unbearable. If not for Sylas' 91 Constitution, he would have already begun to suffer burns. Right now it felt like he had brought his hand a little too close to the stove, except with his entire body.

It was definitely over 60 degrees Celsius. Even the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was barely above 55. Whatever was going on here was on another level entirely.

Sylas had no choice but to try and mimic what Bloom and Mark were doing. Although he realized that this might be another test, he really had no other choice.

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