Genetic Ascension

224  To What?

After coming to understand all of these things, Sylas had also come to understand that the reward he had been given was no simple reward.

Without such a Fusion Crystal, comprehending more than one Comprehension was impossible—as far as he knew. If you were unlucky enough to have grasped a mediocre Comprehension first, then you would truly be screwed.

Though, maybe Sylas was thinking too much. Like Cassarae had said, Comprehensions were rare to the point she hadn't run into anyone with one. Sylas had come across a few he thought might have one, but he never got the chance to confirm one way or another.

Even if he felt the way he completed this Quest was less than satisfactory, he couldn't argue with the results.

For now, he wouldn't use the Crystal. His plan was to see how much he could improve his Dormant Comprehensions first before he took action.

Plus, there was far more to gain from Azrael's body. He had mostly ignored them for the sake of getting to what he felt was most important, but nothing was holding him back now.

There were a total of six more Elixirs in Azrael's possession. Three were Aether Replenishment Elixirs and the other three were a type that Sylas had never heard of before: Focus Replenishment Elixirs.

It seemed that Focus Replenishment Elixirs were designed to help the mind recover after grueling activity. The use that Sylas immediately thought of was his Comprehension.

He often found his mind being greatly fatigued after using his Comprehension for an extended period of time, and that was even with <Maddened Enlightenment> as a support Skill. These seemed to be a shortcut.

[Focus Replenishment (F+) (Consumable)]

[A kiss of refreshing morning air. Drink this to help regain your mind's focus. For every 20 points of Wisdom, boost mental recovery by 100%] n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

[Aether Replenishment (F+) (Consumable)]

[A helping hand from Mother Nature's fairies. Drink this to replenish your life's energy. For every 20 points of Intelligence, recover 5 Aether Units per second. Lasts 5 seconds]

Sylas put these away and stored them for when he would really need them. Though he knew that they could be useful to him now, he was also aware that any Elixirs he took could add to the load on his body. It was ill-advised to take too many Elixirs in quick succession.

Judging by all of their descriptions, Sylas could understand why.

Each Elixir scaled with your stats. So that meant it was relying just as much on your own body as it was on whatever mysterious herbs or spices made it up. Essentially, taking an Elixir was like overdrafting on your own potential.

He wasn't sure if there were truly miraculous Elixirs out there that could give without taking first, but he was sure that he had yet to run into any of them just yet. So, he would just have to take his time and not take them for granted.

They should only be used in emergency situations.

After seeing that there was nothing interesting left in Azrael's spatial device aside from the device itself and some sets of clothing that seemed to have armor-like properties, Sylas finally turned his attention to the dead man's sword. Since he couldn't use armor anyway, there was no point in looking at the rest unless he could actually sell them.

[Illusory Shadow Blade (Common)]

[Level: 17]

[Ability: Pierce; Duplicate; Evolve]

[Increase Strength Effectiveness by <8.5%> for every <0.1> Units of Aether]

[Create <3> blade illusions for every <0.1> Units of Aether]

[Level Up Requirement: <8 Common> Genes]

[Durability: 16/20]

Sylas' brows raised. Honestly, he had expected more out of this blade. But then again, if it was any more powerful than this, would he even still be breathing right now? Maybe he should be counting his lucky stars that it was this weak.

Also, Sylas' view of the world was a bit tinted. These sorts of Evolution Weapons weren't common. The far more common kind were like the wind javelin he had gotten, ones that had set, strict levels and couldn't evolve at all.

Even so, the blade was more than a little disappointing. The blade illusions would only be useful a single time in battle. When your opponent realized they were fake, they'd just ignore them from then on. And if he met an opponent like himself, it might not even take a single slash for them to realize the problem.

'Unless…' Sylas' gaze flashed.

Azrael wielded the sword in hand, so it was easy for Sylas to always keep track of it. But if Sylas even touched this blade, it would burn to ash. If he wanted to use it, he would have to use his telekinesis. And that might actually help him.

So what if an opponent knew most of the shadows were fake if they lost track of the real blade in a sea of blades? That way, he could always keep them on their toes.

'It's a weak ability in the hands of most… but in mine, so long as I don't run into anyone who can see through it easily like I can, or someone with visualization abilities like mine that can always keep track of the sword no matter how it hides, then this could be a very useful battle tactic.'

Sylas nodded to himself and then slotted the sword away. He would keep this in mind for the future and bring it out in an ideal situation.

The last thing Sylas found in Azrael's belongings was a badge. However, no matter how he turned it and flipped it, he couldn't see anything special about it. Still, he didn't dare to touch it… this badge seemed important.

'Wait.'

Sylas' gaze flashed, and he changed his tactic, using his telekinesis to feel across the surface. As expected, he could feel the grooves that his eyes couldn't see in this darkness.

Runes.

'These should be… I see. So this badge is some sort of key. But to what?'