Genetic Ascension

Chapter 375: Icy Blueness

Sylas returned to the edge of the valley, having put the Mancer Wand and the Basilisk King away. He felt good, good enough to try his luck.

If there really was an Arctic Emperor Bear down there, he was really playing with fire. But he had long since become accustomed to risk.

Just now, he had fought a few battles with straggler Arctic King Bears just to scout out their abilities and see if they were any different. And, indeed, he was right to do so, especially since he was lucky enough that he didn’t kill any little princes or princesses this time.

The abilities of the Arctic King Bear mirrored that of the Arctic King Cobra, but they functioned differently. It could be said that the Arctic King Bears were actually stronger overall. After these battles, Sylas realized that the Arctic King Cobra Race had likely been suppressed even when their Emperor was here.

This wasn’t just because Sylas couldn’t use his Beast Totem on these polar bears either.

<Chilling Claw>, <Arctic King’s Polar Domain>, and <Arctic Roar> were their three main Skills, pretty reflective of what the Arctic King Cobra’s were capable of.

The difference was that each one was far more dangerous.

<Chilling Claw> was a physical attack as well as an Aether Skill. As such, its base Damage was amplified by the Physical abilities of the bear rather than being just a pure mage-like Skill.

As such, on top of having Special Damage Effects, they had a Damage of over 300 to even 400 in many cases. And in Sylas’ estimates, that was only for Common and Bronze Mastery at best.

<Arctic King’s Polar Domain> came with a slowing effect. Technically, <Arctic King’s Domain> did as well, but it was more passive while <Arctic King’s Polar Domain> was far more active. It almost felt like a gravity attack as well, though it wasn’t quite that.

Basically, <Arctic King’s Polar Domain> came with a Special Effect while <Arctic King’s Domain> did not.

Finally, both <Arctic Howl> and <Arctic Roar> shared similar enough names, but the Effectiveness of the same Skill in the hands of the polar bears was exponentially more potent. Sylas’ best guess was that it was because bears were innately capable of roaring and beating their chests. Cobras on the other hand… were very much not.

That made Sylas wonder if he was actually limiting the power of his own <Arctic Howl Mutant> Skill by not putting much emphasis into the actual bellowing part of the Skill.

Only time would tell.

The world of Skills, Runes, and Genes was more complex than Sylas had given them credit for and every day he learned something new.

Now that he was prepared, there was nothing to do but to take the risk.

Sylas slid down the edge of the valley, approaching from the more vulnerable territory of the Arctic King Cobras.

The space was large. He couldn’t quite see to the edge of the valley, but the diameter must have been at least half a kilometer. He was making a bet that even if the Arctic King Bears saw him, they wouldn’t care to take action.

As for the Arctic King Cobras… he didn’t fear them at all, especially not with his current strength.

His feet touched earth, or rather, a dense pack of snow. It crunched beneath his feet, but felt surprisingly solid.

With a step, he shot forward.

The Arctic King Cobras noticed his presence moments later and a hissing filled the air. But Sylas directly ignored them, his eyes focused on the pool exuding a thick aura of Ice-Poison.

He not only felt a tingling danger coming from that direction, but he could also feel an opportunity. He knew there was a reason that these creatures called this place home.

A Level 7 Arctic King Cobra suddenly appeared before him, but Sylas caught its <Chilling Scythe> with one hand and punched out with the other.

He was completely immune to its Ice-Poison and a single fist was all it took to send it flying off into the distance.

His Beast Totem appeared behind him as he was prepared for another rain of attacks, but to his surprise, the moment it appeared, they all froze and didn’t move another inch forward.

Sylas’ eyes narrowed, but his Speed didn’t drop. He practically glided across the snow as he approached the serene lake.

The Arctic King Cobras controlled a small part of the shore, and the closer Sylas got, the more powerful they became until he started seeing several Level 10s and 11s. However, not a single one was Level 12 or beyond.

Too weak.

But it also didn’t matter because none of them dared to attack him either. They practically opened up a path for him, looking toward him with what he thought was…

Hope?

These creatures were far more intelligent than normal animals. The Arctic Emperor Cobra could feel rage… of course, even normal animals would attack when their offspring was killed, but Sylas could feel a subtle but tangible difference.

It wasn’t just a fury fueled by an evolutionary necessity, but something far more… human-like.

And now, he could see that even clearer.

Subconsciously, he could tell that these creatures were missing a leader. They were so desperate that after sensing that Sylas was so much like them, they wanted him to take that role.

By this point, the Arctic King Bears were taking an almost lazy notice of what was happening. As Sylas expected, they didn’t seem to care to take action…

Until he showed signs of entering the pool.

At that moment, they all tensed as though they were shocked by his audacity.

‘It seems that the missing Arctic Emperor Bear might really be down there…’

Sylas took a breath, but his steps didn’t slow.

He dove right into the waters, causing a rippling wave to spread out that even the strongest Arctic King Cobras rushed out of the way of.

The moment the water hit him, Sylas felt his Aether skin creaking and crunching almost immediately. It was slowly freezing, and very soon, it would penetrate into his very body.

But he remained calm. He activated Rune Soul and Enchanted Scholar. Then, he organized the Ice-Poison Runes around him into a shield.

Soon, his Aether skin solidified and the pressure on him plummeted.

He dove deeper and deeper into the clear waters until he laid eyes on it.

There it was, a behemoth of a creature with beautiful white fur that exuded a slight icy blue light.

It lay there at the bottom of everything… right next to a Dungeon.

—

[Arctic Emperor Bear ( — )]

[Level: 12]

—

Suddenly, it opened its eyes. An icy blueness penetrated into Sylas’ soul.