Sylas watched as the Clypsians vanished before his gaze became sharp.
Was it a suicide mission? Not exactly. But it wasn’t far from one either. There was a reason he wasn’t going to participate.
That said, he also wouldn’t give them no chance of surviving either. He wasn’t avoiding the situation because he was cowardly, but because he had another method to help, one that would hopefully increase the chances of success substantially.
With a pivot of his foot, he shot deeper into the dungeon.
…
They had already been locked away on the deepest level. To make it any deeper, it was actually necessary to dig through the foundation of the dungeon—at least that was what it seemed like.
But from Sylas’ understanding, there was no way such a large structure would be made without giving it some sort of access patch for maintenance and things of the like.
During his scan of the Runes, though, Sylas found that he couldn’t easily spot where this access patch was, which was odd.
That was when he grasped what was going on. This dungeon definitely had a control panel located in a separate location, one outside the scope of Sylas’ range.
The only place that could be was the tower in the distance, but going there was definitely far too dangerous. Setting aside whether he could sneak there or not, there was the problem of what he would do when he was actually inside.
He was almost certain that the D-Grade was over there, and he had no idea that Cenk would choose to come to the dungeon at this very moment.
That said, Sylas had another method.
The Mesh of Reality.
In order for two far-off locations to be connected so intimately, the only method that could be used was a Rune Formation Master concept known as “Coupling.” This would link two Runes across large distances, resulting in changes from one reflecting in another.
Thankfully, Sylas’ changes to the dungeon’s structure were so subtle and clever that the main control panel wouldn’t reflect much of a change at all. Only the one who crafted it themselves would be able to pick it out, and only if they were supremely focused on it or nearly as talented as Sylas.
However, Coupling, as beautiful as the concept was, had a huge weakness.
Well, to say that it was a weakness was unfair, because it was something that Sylas had only just deduced, and it relied on a Progenitor Flame Ability that rarely appeared in the world.
—
[Astral Stutter (Gold) (Progenitor Flame Ability)]
[Feel the warps and changes to Runes and their interaction with the Mesh of Reality. Feel what they have been and what they might become.]
—
The main ability of Sylas’ Astral Stutter Progenitor Flame Ability was to read changes in space and predict what could come and what had been.
The description of this sounded a lot like Temporal Delay, which seemed to be capable of the same thing, just through time. But the difference in the mechanism was highly important.
That was because Sylas could feel out changes in space that happened, instead of just observing them. This ability to feel would allow Sylas to sense the situation in the main control panel, and by extension, if he had enough time…
He could use Astral Stutter to trigger changes in the main control panel that could change the situation in the main dungeon.
Rather than trying to control D-Grade Runes, which was impossible, Sylas would be forcing changes in the dungeon itself.
The strain would still be great, but the benefits of doing things like this spoke for themselves. If only he could just find…
‘Here.’
Sylas stopped at a random corner of the dungeon. There was a chilling wind sweeping by, and everything here felt almost silent as though all sound came to die right at this node.
It was a very cleverly designed bit of architecture, the peaks, troughs, and even the roughness of the wall all coming together to form the illusion that you had stepped into another world—when in reality, just one step back would place you right back in the state you had been just a moment ago.
Bending down, Sylas drew a claw across the grout between the stones. Activating [Chaotic Menace], a dark red began to exude from him, plumes of dark smoke emitting from his eyes.
As though sizzling in the Madness, the grout shook and smoked, Sylas’ claw extending and becoming even sharper.
—
[Chaotic Menace (FFF+) (Gene Class Form)] (Fragmented Mastery)
[Your body is a lethal weapon of Chaos. Your hair, your claws, your teeth carry the lethality of weapons with them and their strength reflects that. Control their growth with a thought, stoke their power with your Fury.]
—
There was a slight shift in his hair and Sylas’ body seemed to grow a size. The change was subtle, but the air became heavier in an instant.
This was the first time since coming to this new world that Sylas had used one of his new Skills, and the feeling was intoxicating. He could see why Gene Classes were so powerful. It was like all of his talent was finally being put to good use.
The link between the strength of his claws and his Will seemed so strong that he was practically connecting one to the other. The thoughts of synergy were almost enough to send him into a spiral.
Sylas’ claw finally went all the way around and clasped onto the large stone with his claws from both sides. Then, slowly, he pulled it up, his back flexing.
Heavy. Truly heavy. There was no way this stone was made up of the same material as all the others, but that only meant that he was in the right place.
It was cleverly hidden.
Just not cleverly hidden enough.
When Sylas saw the matrix of swirling Runes below the moment the stone was lifted, he knew he had come to the right place.
Silently, he slipped inside, letting the stone fall over his head.