[Castle Bonus—Big thanks to Readable and RolaySalt!! (3/10)]
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[Name: Sylas Grimblade]
[Species: Human (F)]
[Affiliation: Grimblade Lineage]
[Level: 0]
[Titles: A Flexible Will; Madness Conqueror; Skill Savant; A Patient Stalker]
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[Physical: 42]
>[Strength: 49]
>[Constitution: 49]
>[Dexterity: 19]
>[Speed: 50]
[Mental: 47]
>[Intelligence: 10]
>[Wisdom: 10]
>[Charisma: 122]
[Will: 94]
[Luck: 1]
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[Skills: Maddened Meditation (F); Madness Control (F)]
[Comprehensions: Madness (F)]
—-
[Gene State: Soft]
[Fragmented Genes: Grimblade Lineage (F); (8) Dexterity (F); (4) Constitution (F); (4) Strength (F)]
[Common Genes: (3) Speed (F); (2) Strength (F); (2) Constitution (F)]
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[Gene Talents: Blade Aura (Mutated – Weakened)(-); Sudden Burst (Dormant)(F)]
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Sylas moved through the dense forest with swift feet. Both his stamina and Speed were exceptional now, the only unfortunate part was that his Dexterity was lacking. He thought about it and felt that topping up his Dexterity stat first would be smart.
After accepting the Quest, he had a ticking timer of about three days to make it there. There was a virtual sort of compass that appeared at the side of his vision, showing him where he needed to go.
With his current Speed, not to mention his confidence in facing the creatures he might face, he felt it would only take him a few hours to cover that distance.
From the stats of the creatures in the lake, Sylas had a general understanding of how strong the challenges he might face would be. Simply put, they were weaker than him. As such, it was best to take advantage of them now and reach his Species Limits before considering anything else.
While he was looking for Dexterity builds to target, though, he didn’t expect that he would run into an old enemy first.
—-
[Titanoboa (F)]
[Level: 0]
[Physical: 39]
[Mental: 3]
[Will: 11]
—-
Its stats were much higher than the last time Sylas had seen it. It was hard to tell if it was the exact same creature, but even in the past, titanoboas so large should have been rare. He didn’t know much about the spawn rates in this world, but his gut feeling was likely to be correct.
The titanoboa was a much browner color than it had been when Sylas last saw it. It blended in so well with the bark that Sylas had almost missed it.
However, at the moment he was about to rush by, he had felt like a hand was almost trying to feel around in his mind. He had frowned and looked around before his eyes landed on the beast.
‘Did it just try to look at my stats?’
This was a plus-one for Sylas’ theory about the system. Clearly, there was a version of it that all creatures could understand, even if their sentience was limited.
Sylas remembered that the first time he used the system to check an animal’s stats, it had mentioned something about his Mental overwhelming them, allowing the scan to succeed. Was this what people would feel when it failed?
All of Sylas’ earlier confidence was forcefully flushed out of him. If he ran past that tree carelessly and the titanoboa timed its fall, he would be entangled in something he might not be able to get out of.
Although the Physical of the extinct snake was only 39, there was no doubt that it was heavily skewed toward Strength and Constitution.
The titanoboa hissed, retreating back into the tree.
Sylas’ Will stirred, and he used his Charisma to reach out into the world. With a strong tug, he pulled down on the branches the titanoboa was using to hold itself up.
It didn’t need much help. The branches were under a lot of strain due to the snake’s weight, and pulling them down was only helped by the monstrous creature.
However, the branches of these trees, just given the fact they could uphold the snake in the first place, were extraordinary.
Sylas didn’t want to break them, though. He just wanted to take advantage of the snake’s movement to throw it off balance.
The titanoboa managed to keep much of its balance, but its long tail fell downward.
Its muscles reacted quickly, and it began to pull itself back up, but not before Sylas rushed by, taking hold of the end of its tail and pulling down with all his strength.
The titanoboa was already in a state of trying to regain its steadiness, and this action of Sylas pushed it over the edge, sending it rocketing toward the ground.
A dull boom echoed as Sylas leapt out of the way, his green irises flashing with a focused light.
The titanoboa snapped its head at Sylas. In that moment, Sylas could almost feel the rage in its eyes.
He sidestepped it. The creature was too slow.
His fist hooked around its head, sending it rebounding against the trees’ trunk.
The titanoboa attempted a retreat. One of its eyes was already half closed after hitting against the tough bark. Plus, the fall from so high above hadn’t come without its own share of damage. It was disoriented, and its flight responses were on high alert.
Unfortunately, its body was too big.
Sylas slipped out of the way of its swinging tail, not bothered by the thunderous bang that echoed behind him as it hit a tree instead.
His fist found its way to the head of the titanoboa once again.
He glided around, grasping the movements of the creature before it even seemed to know what it wanted to do. He could feel that his Will was feeling the world around him in a way that his eyes couldn’t. It was sudden before, but now that the stat was so close to triple digits, it was starting to become far more substantial.
BANG.
He drove another fist into the snake’s head. He could almost feel its tiny brain rattling within. The sensation of his knuckles colliding with it seemed to extend in his mind, that brief instant of contact feeling more like several drawn-out seconds. It allowed him to check his form, feeling the distribution of his weight, and even feel how he could bring out more power.