Genetic Ascension
chapter-185

[Quest "Sorrow of the Basilisk King (Common)" Completed]

[Clearance Level: Common]

[Rewards]

[>Voice of a King (Passive)]

This time, Sylas felt an odd emotion rushing through him.

That was right, it was an emotion. A sense of superiority, as though he was looking down on the world from above. It felt like a cool-pack was pressed against the folds of his brain, filling it with a chilling but soothing liquid. His mind calmed, and all his worries seemed to be stripped from him.

The feeling lasted for a long while until it faded. No, it didn't fade. Instead, it felt like he had… gotten used to it? It was a permanent state? His mind just felt so… fresh and clear.

That was when it hit Sylas.

Passive.

In a video game context, "passive" had always meant that it was an ability that was always on. It was an ability that he shouldn't have to "activate" like he had been trying to do previously.

In that case, could it be that he had been using Voice of a King wrong this entire time? Maybe that boost to Charisma was just a byproduct and not the main purpose of the ability to begin with.

At least right now, he felt surprisingly calm.

Coming from Sylas, this meant a great deal, especially since he was quite used to being level-headed in most situations. But right now, it was on another level. He found it incredibly easy to focus, and his thoughts ran smoothly.

He took a breath and exhaled, and that was when something else surprising occurred. He could feel the complex folds of his lungs expanding, his diaphragm compressing, his throat flexing. He could even feel the cool wind slowly warm as it descended into his body.

Sylas couldn't help but wonder what it could feel like to use Extricate in this state. Would he feel those feelings even more clearly?

At that moment, the Basilisk King suddenly ripped a path out of the other end of the Red Crystal Python.

ROAR!

The roar echoed for a long distance, beating against Sylas' eardrum. It was filled with a fanaticism and fervor Sylas hadn't heard from the Basilisk King since the day he first fought him. In fact, the Basilisk King's horns and golden runes had returned, and it seemed to have gone back to its previous state.

Sylas thought it was over and the Quest was finally finished when…

[Quest Received]

[Sorrow of the Basilisk King (Bronze)]

[A King without a Kingdom. The Basilisk is a fallen creature; from where? No one knows. Maybe even They have forgotten Their former glory. You have met a Basilisk whose pride has been shattered and whose Will has been torn asunder. Remind this Basilisk King of who He is.]

[Bronze Reward Requirements]

[>Awaken the Pride of the Basilisk King]

His gaze flickered. The Basilisk King had returned to its former state, and it likewise should have regained control over the Skills that it had lost contact with. But it seemed that it wasn't over.

That was when Sylas remembered the original description of the Basilisk King Dungeon. It spoke of the might of the Basilisk King, how it was undisputed.

But there seemed to be something off about it.

Why was the Dungeon of such a powerful creature only FF+?

Sylas checked the stats of the Basilisk King to see if anything had changed.

[Basilisk King (FF+)]

[Level: 5]

[Physical: 80]

>[Strength: 111]

>[Constitution: 123]

>[Dexterity: 42]

>[Speed: 45]

[Mental: 72]

>[Intelligence: 99]

>[Wisdom: 19]

>[Charisma: 97]

>[Will: 91]

It was identical. Even through completing two Quests, none of the numbers had changed, and this left Sylas confused. The Basilisk King had certainly improved, so how were its stats the same? Unless it was the case that only its Effectiveness has shifted?

Sylas assumed that it should just be a Skill issue, wherein the Basilisk King's Skills were sealed until it returned to this state. But shouldn't its Skills have been incorporated into its FF+ grade? But that hadn't changed either.

After some thought, Sylas checked something.

[Basilisk King (FF+)]

[Level: 5]

[Skills: King's Bind (FF-); King's Shift (FF-); King's Shield (FF-); Voice of a King (FF+)]

[Common Genes: Voice of a King (F); …]

Not only were all of its Skills at a higher grade than Sylas' own despite sharing the same name, but it had <Voice of a King> as both a Skill and a Passive.

[Voice of a King (FF+) (Skill)]

[No Law can bind the King. Limits? The Basilisk King has none. It shatters them with its Will alone.]

[When facing an enemy of weaker Will, you suppress them. Over the course of the battle, depending on the disparity, your stats increase.]

[Voice of a King (Gene Talent)]

[A Gene Talent capable of cooling the mind and increasing the Effectiveness of Will and Charisma. Your Charisma activates Passively and those around you with weaker Will are pulled into your orbit. Your Skills and stats are more Effective.]

Finally, Sylas understood exactly what was happening.

Because of the anomaly in the Basilisk Dungeon, he hadn't been granted the rewards he assumed would have included the upgraded version of his current Skills and the <Voice of a King> Skill.

At the same time, he never noticed that the Basilisk King had this Skill during their battle because his Will was far beyond its own. It never had a chance due to this alone.

He couldn't help but wonder just what kind of scaling the ability had. And by suppress, did it mean that he was stealing stats from the enemy? Or was it a completely different function from the increase to his own stats?

Unfortunately, there was no enemy to test it out here, and even with Madness, <Basic Scouting> didn't give him any more information.

Sylas looked over and found that after roaring, the Basilisk King had fallen into a slumber. It seemed it wasn't finished evolving yet. Maybe something else would come of that.

He placed it in the Hibernation Realm where it would certainly evolve faster. Then, he looked to leave. It was a shame to leave the red crystals, but there was nothing he could do about it.

'It's time to leave this place.'