Genetic Ascension

Chapter 231  Totem

Sylas exchanged for the shield and didn't look back. 
The problem he faced with trying to use Brant's shield was the same reason he couldn't use his telekinesis to fly through the skies. It was a matter of power output. 
The shield was light enough for him to control with his telekinesis, but if he was fighting against someone and they dealt a heavy blow against it, its weight would multiply several times over in that brief instant, causing him to suffer. 
Even if he tried just controlling the shield to parry, the issue would remain the same. He would still need to exert some power to be able to do that. 
But this shield, there was a shockwave. That meant that the attack and the shield didn't need to actually collide with one another. In addition, its effect was double that of <Solidify>, and though weaker than <King's Shield>, that was a Skill he could only use when fused with the Basilisk King anyway. 
In addition, this was just the first benefit. This shield was so expensive not because of this ability but rather its ability to bolster Constitution. 
If he had this shield deployed, his Constitution would be increased by 30%, from its current 140 to 182. With the Scorned Wraps, at least on his fist, he would be able to exert 200 points of Constitution. 
This was huge and it wasn't something he could look down on. 
This was only a Level 10 FF- treasure, so it would almost certainly have some limit at some point. But for now, this was huge. 
Although he was wasting a lot of this treasure's potential, he didn't care. 
The first thing Sylas saw when he opened his eyes again was the shield. It was a tall wooden tower shield with an outline of bolted steel across its edges. Right in the center of it, there was a faint painting of a blazing sun that seemed to be peeling away. 
'Heavy…' 
That was the first thought Sylas had. The shield was at least 50 lbs. Luckily, the capacity of his telekinesis had increased. Even with an item this heavy, he could still exert at least 90% of his telekinesis' physical capacity without issue. 
Sylas took a breath and put the shield away after testing it out. It could indeed increase his Constitution, but he had to activate Basic Aetherflow first; only that way could he link the abilities of his shield to himself without actually touching it. 
'Not a bad tradeoff. I can use Basic Aetherflow for a much longer period in battle now anyway.' 
Once he was finished with this, Sylas began to familiarize himself with his new Skills. After upgrading to Silver Mastery beneath the strength Madness, <Mirror Step> was able to form five mirror images from a single unit of Aether. 
<Stunning Spike> was interesting because it seemed to be a Skill that could miss if he wasn't careful. At the very least, while it was invisible to his eyes, the spike formed from his Will was clearly visible in his visualization. If he met an enemy that was ready for it, it would be difficult to hit them. 
<Astral Will Fission> was… more painful than he thought it would be. It wasn't quite as bad as one might think splitting a soul might be, but it was instead more existential. 
When he activated it, it felt like he was staring into an abyss of death that he could never pull himself out of. It was an assault on his mind unlike anything he had experienced before. 
But interestingly enough, Sylas actually found his Will being tempered by it. If not for the fact his Will Genes were far from being in a State of Wealth, he might have actually seen some increase. 
The actual experience of having already formed an Astral Will, though, was very interesting. It was like he had gained another pair of eyes that funneled information to his mind, like his thoughts had a split screen in them and he could easily experience two things at once. 
After some deliberation, Sylas decided to dismiss his first 100 Will Astral Will and form a 200 Will one instead. He felt that the number of people with 200 Will was very few, and forming a 300 Will one would be far too much considering he only had 319 Will right now. 
Then, he sent this invisible Astral Will to scout out the situation in the village. Only then did he turn his attention to <Psychedelic Punch>. 
The reason Sylas was so confident in this Skill was because he felt he already had a Visualized Conception… His Serpentes Beast Totem. 
What was that if not a Visualized Conception? Its appearance alone could cause the stats of Serpentes beasts to plummet, and those Serpentes beasts on his side to gain a boost to their strength. 
So when Sylas saw this, he immediately thought of if he could use it with this Skill. He decided to test it out as he waited for feedback from his Astral Will. 
Hopping down from the tree, he walked in the direction of his Astral Will to keep the distance close enough that his Aether consumption wasn't so great. He took a breath, visualized his Beast Totem, and then punched out. 
At that moment, the world turned silent. 
A pair of golden, slit eyes appeared behind Sylas and the glow on his fist shifted. Sylas felt his heart shake before the punch was even sent out. His body shook and the air quaked. 
BANG! 
The muscles in Sylas' arm threatened to tear apart as a violent fist imprint surged out. The air pressure rushed out and slammed against a tree. Though it dispersed, the sound was akin to a solid THOCK, almost as though a sledgehammer had just rammed against its body. 
Sylas came to a stop, his gaze flickering. 
<Psychedelic Punch> made no promises about exactly how powerful it would be, presumably because this would all be dependent on how good your Visualized Conception was, at least up to a certain point. But just now… He felt like this punch carried at least 300 points of Strength, more than double his current Strength… 

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