Genetic Ascension
chapter-434

"Let's finish securing the trade route, then." Sylas replied.

His expression didn't seem to give away anything, but he could see a twinkle in Bloom's eye that quickly became shock and confusion.

Obviously, Profession had failed to work this time. But Sylas didn't expose her.

With Sylas, the duo managed to finish their Quest swiftly. Or rather, it could be said that if not for being ambushed, they would have never struggled with it in the first place.

A trade route securing Quest was separated into three aspects. The first was scouting, the second was marking, and the third was successfully completing one route.

They were on the last leg, and if their cargo had suffered any damage, they would have failed.

Luckily for them, the target of the Sylphs wasn't their cargo.

Or so it seemed.

Sylas' eyes scanned everything he could, taking note of as much information as possible, and he couldn't help but feel that it was impossible for it to be a coincidence.

Maybe it was because he was aware that the Sylphs were almost certainly in charge of the nearby System City, but he couldn't get out of his own head about it.

Was it really natural for them to go so far out of their way to target a mere Bloom and Mark? In the past, Sylas had felt a great deal of pressure from them. But now... he didn't even take them very seriously at all. He had a hard time believing that the Sylphs would care to.

But as they were finishing up the route, he got a notification that made his gaze flicker.

[You have begun to effect change on a Multi Quest. Would you like to steal their Destiny?]

'I see...'

Sylas had never heard of a Multi Quest before, but on the way here, he had casually killed more than enough creatures with Bronze Genes.

[Madness Key (Treasure)]

[A key leading to a fortune of Madness. Detects other Madness Disciples and enlightens your path. Contains small spatial world within. Can answer one question in exchange for <2 Bronze> Genes]

[Curse Status: Glutton. <12 Bronze> Genes a day to maintain Happiness. Requirements grow by the day. <5 days> remaining until Hunger increases]

[Curse Status: Cannot be unequipped]

The Madness Key had undergone quite a few evolutions since he survived against the Arctic Emperor Cobra. It had already been well over a month since then.

Luckily, the Madness Key only counted time he personally experienced, or else he might truly be screwed this time.

But, even so, it was already getting to the point where gathering so many Genes might become troublesome.

The good news was that it had stopped doubling and for the last while, it had only been needing two extra Bronze Genes a week.

Thanks to this, he found out what a Multi Quest was quickly and confirmed his guesses. They came in two forms, one of which was somewhat similar to a Chain Quest, and another that was a bit more complex than that.

The former essentially forced a Quest onto a team of people and each were given legs of the Quest to complete. The Quest would fail if everyone didn't complete their parts. The only difference between it and a Chain Quest was that the parts were completed simultaneously instead of in sequence.

The latter were more complicated and sometimes even called Multi Variable Quests to distinguish them.

They were Quests that could change objectives or alter their difficulty on the fly, somewhat like receiving alternative endings in a video game.

Such Quests were actually highly sought after because upon triggering some hidden requirements, it was possible to receive rewards far higher than the initial difficulty.

But, likewise, it was also possible to complete a task far more difficult in exchange for little to nothing at all.

The question was... which of these Quests were the siblings on?

And also, what would happen if he accepted?

No matter what kind of Multi Quest it was, there would be several legs of it, with many moving parts. If he stole the Destiny of the whole Quest, then how would he possibly complete it alone?

Unless in this context stealing referred to forcefully integrating himself into the Quest and gaining rewards anyway.

Sylas was curious, and honestly speaking, no matter what he did, the Grimblades would be antsy. So why not?

This time, Sylas accepted and there was a sudden warp.

Bloom and Mark frowned subconsciously as though they felt something they couldn't quite explain, but their reaction wasn't nearly as fierce as it should have been had they known exactly what happened.

[Multi Quest Received]

[Madness Key Gluttony will go into dormancy for <14> days. Hunger will be reduced by 100% permanently.]

OR... upon Failure.

[Madness Key Gluttony will double. Timer for Hunger will reduce by 50% for <28> days]

Sylas was surprised when he read these penalties and potential rewards... because they were identical to what he would receive if he succeeded in his Legendary Chain Quest.

It seemed that either this would always be the result no matter what... or this Multi Quest had the potential to truly be something special.

Whichever one it was, he would likely find out very soon.

[Evergreen Territory Claim (Multi Quest) (???)]

[The Evergreen Winter Forest is home to 223 Demon Villages, three System Cities, and two mysterious powers. It is not well-known for its vegetation, but what it lacks in life and vitality, it makes up for in precious metals. Controlling this territory means access to a wealth

of mineral and ore deposits.

[However, this region is faced with a problem. It is the mirror of a continent with climate opposite to its own. Whereas it is dry and cold, its Earth coordinates are wet and hot.

[This disruption results in a clash of Aether that could potentially ruin both lands.

[Lay claim to Evergreen, re-align its coordinates, and claim its wealth for yourself]

[Leg 003]

>[Clear Trading Route]

'... I see...'

This wasn't a Quest. This was an all-out war.

But the details simply didn't matter because with this... Lucius wouldn't be able to kill him even if he was capable.