Genetic Ascension

[Castle Bonus---Big thanks to Readable and RolaySalt!! (4/10)]

It was hard to tell if it was an illusion or not. He wasn't some master of the fist and he hadn't spent a lot of time studying it. Aside from some good cardio, he had never seen boxing as anything more than that.

But… he did like to watch boxing and mixed martial art events. Those men and women were the ultimate exhibition of discipline. It felt like those memories were bubbling up, and under his strong Will, he was beginning to influence his body to follow those movements more fluidly, more perfectly.

It wasn't just that, but he felt that it was also a lingering effect of <Madness Control>. That feeling of being in perfect control of his body lingered in his thoughts…

What if he could be like that all the time?

BANG. BANG. BANG.

A rapid-fire series of combos came from Sylas and it felt like he was briefly flying on a cloud.

He wanted to feel that feeling again, but the titanoboa's head collapsed, not coming back up.

Sylas exhaled a breath, his heart beating rapidly.

He had gotten really into it just now. He was already good at focusing before, but now it felt like he had taken steroids for his mind. He hadn't even ended up using Blade Aura or any other amplifiers.

Suddenly, an ache came from his knuckles. After that high vanished, he winced, feeling as though he might have gone overboard.

These Scorned Wraps only provided a +10% boost to Constitution, and only in his hands as well. The titanoboa's Constitution was obviously high as well, so it was like rocks bashing against rocks. Considering the noises they had been making, that might as well have been the case.

He reached down and touched the corpse.

---

[Titanoboa (F)]

[Gene Detected]

[Fragmented Gene: (9) Strength (F)]

[Attempt Assimilation?]

[Yes] [No]

---

Sylas looked at this screen curiously. The snake's stats were comparable to Middle Madness, but the output of genes was much weaker. It seemed that creatures in Dungeons probably provided a better return.

---

[Gene Assimilation Starting…]

[Gene Assimilation Triggered]

---

[Genes Successfully Assimilated]

[Fragmented Gene: (4) Strength (F)]

---

[Genes Failed Assimilation]

[Fragmented Gene: (5) Strength (F)]

---

[Gene Talent Detected]

[Trade 10 Fragmented Strength (F) to unlock: Tail Whip?]

[Yes][No]

---

Sylas frowned. He did remember the whipping tail of the snake was quite powerful, but he didn't have a tail. If he accepted this, would it grow a tail for him?

Then he remembered. Didn't he have a treasure he could ask now? He didn't have ten Strength Gene fragments right now anyway, he only had eight total after this victory.

'Oh… so that's how it works…'

After giving up another Fragmented Strength Gene, Sylas understood. The Genes wouldn't change his appearance, but how well he could use it would depend on the phenotypes he did have.

A phenotype was a person's observable traits, and in this case, it referred to Sylas' clear lack of a tail.

Sylas looked down at his leg. 'So I could, theoretically, use it with my leg? That's not a bad idea… if I can find something to protect my shins…'

The Scorned Wraps stopped him from using weapons with his hands and he couldn't wear armor. The latter would make it difficult for him to find something to protect his legs, but it wouldn't be impossible. Who knew, in a world like this, maybe there were kicking experts out there that had their own special weapons to attach to their legs?

'It hurts to continuously use my fists, but… if I don't get used to it, that could be a problem on its own. I can't increase my Constitution more than a single point now. I'm already at 49. If this still isn't enough to protect me…'

Sylas' mind ran through options as he tried to think of solutions. Even if he got Tail Whip, it would only make his problems worse. His shins and feet couldn't take that kind of punishment.

There were methods of strengthening, but it took years of practice, years he didn't have.

'I need some sort of shield Gene Talent or Skill… I also need to find a way to increase my Intelligence. Right now, it's the greatest limiter to my strength. Because of it, I can only use Blade Aura and Madness Control for a small moment.'

He set aside the matter of Tail Whip for now and began his hunt for Dexterity builds in earnest.

…

As Sylas moved about, he wasn't stingy with the questions he asked the Madness Key. By halfway through the second day, all of his Physical stats had reached their cap of 50. The distribution of his Genes was as follows.

---

[Gene State: Soft]

[Fragmented Genes: Grimblade Lineage (F); (8) Dexterity (F); (6) Constitution (F); (7) Strength (F)]

[Common Genes: (3) Speed (F); (3) Strength (F); (2) Constitution (F); (3) Dexterity (F)]

---

[Gene Talents: Blade Aura (Mutated - Weakened)(-); Sudden Burst (F); Tail Whip (F)]

---

He had managed to do all of this even with having to give up a Common Gene to the Madness Key. At least for now, he was able to comfortably feed it and ask all the questions he wanted.

What was unfortunate was that he still hadn't found any methods of increasing his Intelligence. All the creatures he came across could only give Physical Genes.

But this was a natural pitfall. These creatures didn't particularly have high Mental stats, and they weren't known for their raw intelligence on Earth either, so not finding Genes for Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma from them only seemed natural.

Maybe he would have to kill humanoid creatures for that…

Sylas exhaled a breath. He didn't blink at killing animals, but there was something a bit sour about this.

However, he was more pragmatic than he was moral. Those gnolls might provide him with exactly what he was looking for.

It was just unfortunate he would have to go looking like this.

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