Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1671 Five Years [Bonus]

[Bonus chapter thanks to Tommy_C_6117 <3 I perfectly curated this cliffhanger JUST for you. So go Tommy_see that one. If anyone makes fun of my dad joke, next cliff is even worse] Sylas’ pupils flickered. There was something about this energy that was particularly odd.

His thoughts suddenly converged on the spine of the building-those four posts that formed its corners. He remembered feeling like they were akin to polished bone, jetting up into the skies for countless kilometers.

Now Sylas was wondering if that was by design or not. Or, more accurately, whether that was more than just an aesthetic choice. It was deeper than that.

He really focused on his senses, and the light seemed to slow in his perception. Time dilated, and he watched as it moved through his body.

This was the first time he had seen something dig through the Layers of his very being so thoroughly. As far as Sylas knew, Extricate was the only thing he had ever run into that was capable of it. Yet the Weaver Guild was using it for a casual test formed for children?

No, it wasn’t exactly that exaggerated. While this scan seemed to have the depth of Extricate, it couldn’t actually do what Extricate could do.

It sensed, but it didn’t apply any changes.

But seeing his body scanned so thoroughly from an outsider’s perspective made Sylas both wary and intrigued at once. It was like watching an expert at work, massaging your body or executing a complex surgery you were awake to witness.

It was completely different than when he did it himself.

Everyone’s body was different, and the way the Layers were separated was likewise different. To be able to create a universal method of scanning required a far more rigid set of rules on how to execute things, while Sylas had always done things with a mixture of reliance on feel in conjunction with the system-the latter of which did most of the heavy lifting.

Suddenly, Sylas saw an opportunity to comprehend more of how Extricate functioned on his own. So…

He resisted.

The outside world couldn’t see or have a feel for Sylas’ thoughts, but one after another, the scans were completed. It seemed that the more youthful your Seed Age, the quicker the scans completed.

A young boy with blue skin and sharp ears lined with three simple golden earrings that seemed thicker than they were wide was first.

“Akash Riverdon. 3 years, 11 months.”

He beamed with pride, placing his arms on his hips.

Seed Age began to be counted from the moment you entered Rune Sight, the lowest level of Rune Mastery. Most children here would start their Rune Mastery journey and then immediately focus on progressing as quickly as they could. Once they reached Spark Mastery, they would sign up for the first available entry to become true members of the Weaver Guild.

Although there were many legacy families in the Weaver Guild, even aside from the seven main Clans, there was no birthright access to the Guild. This was part of their foundational laws.

However, by the same token, even when you did have many legacy members of the Guild within your family, children and their Clans would still push them forward to join like this. That was because they all knew one thing… The only chance at forming a Perfect Spark Seed was by joining the Guild. Even if they smashed their heads against a wall on their own, without a proper path to follow, there was no chance at all.

So, upon reaching Spark Mastery, these children didn’t even try to reach perfection.

The Riverdon Clan was one of the seven, but they were no different. Akash was a promising youth of their most recent generation, and a time of less than five years to reach Spark Mastery—especially at such a young, immature age was exceptional.

Of course, Leia wasn’t impressed in the slightest.

She wasn’t first because her Seed Age would be over a hundred years old. The Analei might be able to reincarnate, but there were many things they couldn’t cheat.

Though her previous Rune Mastery experience had been erased, her Seed Age had still continued to tick upward. This was why the Analei were granted a different scale compared to everyone else depending on which reincarnation they were on.

Technically speaking, because Leia had wasted her second life, she actually had an advantage… if her grandmother let her have it, that is. Which was doubtful.

Even so, during her first life, Leia was a prodigy among prodigies. It had only taken her 2 years and 7 months, more than a full year faster than this youth. But look how excited he was.

He was lucky he was a child. Leia chose to withhold her disgust, saving that for Sylas instead, who was standing there with furrowed brows.

She couldn’t help but feel that hatred within herself stoke more. This was the man who had killed her, and he couldn’t even deal with a little pain.

Granted, the more imperfect your Foundation, the more painful this process was. As someone from a weaker world, it was only natural Sylas felt like blades were running through his body.

But she wasn’t in the mood to give him that sort of benefit of the doubt.

“Ori Rizen. 3 years, 11 months, 1 week.”

“… 3 years, 11 months, 1 week, 3 days…”

“… 3 years, 11 months, 1 week, 4 days…”

“… 3 years, 11 months, 1 week, 4 days…”

“… 3 years, 11 months, 1 week, 5 days…”

“… 3 years, 11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days…”

“… 3 years, 11 months, 2 weeks, 5 days…”

One after another, the timers ran out. Everyone in this batch but three managed to make it under the four-year barrier. So long as they were under five, they were already talents worth being nurtured by the Guild. But under four put them in a slightly higher tier.

Those that didn’t manage to meet the four-year cut knew that their future paths would be harder. They could only hope to make it up in the rest of the tests.

Then came the Analei who had long reincarnated.

“Leia Analei. 167 years.”

At this point, they didn’t even bother to count months and weeks. It was pointless.

“Malikhi Analei. 379 years.”

Leia’s gaze flickered. She had been so focused on Sylas she hadn’t noticed that he was here… this was his fourth life, was it not? How had he died so soon?

As far as she knew, Malikhi had recently entered the B-tier of his third life—or at least, that was the case before she left. But now he was sitting there in a stony silence, looking to be no more than four or five years old, a lot younger than even some of the other Analei.

But his face… it looked like it was practically oozing a blackened, dark aura.

That wasn’t good. His temper wasn’t the best, and if he died like she had in his first life, he could make this exam a hell for everyone… Her first life hadn’t ended the best either, and maybe that was why she had skated by her grandmother’s suggestions during her second life. In part, she was ashamed… Leia almost forgot that Sylas was the only one who remained, his brows furrowed in an icy silence as the light continued to wash over him.

At that moment, everyone seemed to be waiting for the program to produce the number.

The General could already feel his patience wearing thin. At this point, Sylas might as well just kill himself. This result was bad enough—what would happen if it was doubled?

Sylas wasn’t an Analei. He wouldn’t receive their discounted difficulty as he hadn’t undergone any rebirths.