Sylas felt as though the spatial storm was trying to suck him in. He could sense a great amount of his Ice-Poison Aether being pulled into it as well, and though he knew that Licirius was likely on the other side, he had no intention of trying to cross over.

He had no idea where Licirius had escaped to. It would be fine if it was just another location in the ocean, but what if it was to a city? Or even worse, a System City?

If he was pulled in, he might die before he even understood the situation around him.

The suction was strong, so much so that Sylas even wondered if Licirius had planned this all along. Even with his current Physical, having fused with the Basilisk King, he could feel himself slipping.

Just when he was about to lose his footing entirely, his thoughts flashed and he recalled that pulse of Aether Licirius had sent out before, the very same one that had managed to stifle his telekinesis.

Then, he recalled how he learned to use his telekinesis to interrupt and stop Skills from being activated.

Those two experiences linked onto one another and Sylas dug deep, activating his Gluttony Seed and Basic Aetherflow. He thought of controlling his Aether skin, but there was no time to get it right. He had to change tactics.

His mouth opened and he unleashed a roar.

<Arctic Howl>.

BOOM!

His telekinesis and <Arctic Howl> layered on top of each other, forming a dispersing barrier of greenish blue that rippled out in all directions.

The suction force of the spatial storm was forcefully dispersed and Sylas faintly heard a grunt that sounded somewhat like Licirius on the other side.

The spatial storm collapsed and Sylas stumbled backward, gasping for breath.

He took two heaving breaths, feeling as though he had just survived another life and death moment. His intuition, or more accurately, his Luck was telling him that he definitely didn't want to be dragged into the other side. Luckily, he had managed in the end and seemed to have dealt Licirius a blow as well.

The beating of Sylas' heart calmed and his body began to regulate itself.

'That Skill…'

Sylas had used his Basic Aetherflow on Skills before, like when he used <Momentum Shift> on his kunai. But this was the first time he had just used it to boost a Skill in general.

It was unlikely that it would work on every Skill the same way, but <Arctic Howl> seemed perfect for it. When Basic Aetherflow was added, not only did it retain its defensive quality, but it also gained an Aether and Skill dispersing character. If it had 600 Defense at first, its Effective Defense was much higher now.

This was to say that although its Defense remained the same, because Sylas' telekinesis could disperse Skills it came into contact with, it would have to defend against a weaker attack overall.

This was very useful if it was meeting a Skill head-on, but if it was defending against a bite like against the first sperm whale he fought, it was far less useful.

'This is interesting… Why is it that fusing Basic Aetherflow doesn't give it a direct boost in Strength like it does with my fists…'

Sylas regained his bearings completely and stood firmly on the rolling waters.

'I have more experimenting to do. But now, I've wasted enough time on these waters. It's time to go.'

Sylas had been getting closer to the island all this time. At this point, he was no more than half an hour away. It was about time to see if this mysterious City Lord was truly Cassarae.

**

Licirius stumbled out of the spatial storm. Rather than appearing at the core of the System City like he had expected, Sylas' actions had disrupted the teleportation, sending him spiraling a distance away instead.

He fell from almost 50 meters in the sky, crashing into the trees down below.

He had already been injured by Sylas' strike to his liver. If not for his Constitution, that attack alone would have shut his entire body down. But now, his situation was even worse.

Hitting the ground with a dull thud, he groaned, his body shaking as he tried to push himself up.

His ribs were a shattered mess, and now he had even broken an arm. He couldn't even properly wield his spear like this. A little human had actually forced him into this situation.

Several seconds later, he managed to pull himself up, gasping for breath. Then, with a slow trudge, he made it back to the city.

…

"What the hell happened to you?" Plinli looked at Licirius with a deep frown. His cousin had only been gone for less than a day, how had he ended up like this?

Licirius collapsed onto a soft couch, dyeing the white fibers in red. But he didn't seem to care and he spoke about everything.

Plinli's frown deepened when he realized that the Den was lost to a human, only to relax somewhat afterward. The likelihood that such a powerhouse was linked to Cassarae was next to zero.

However, when Licirius mentioned that Sylas was only Level 0, his expression changed completely.

"That's impossible. Earth doesn't have any bloodlines that are so powerful."

Licirius looked at Plinli with a mocking sort of anger. He was already in this state, and they were so close, was there a need to lie?

"You idiot." Plinli spoke bluntly. "There are a million different ways that you could see Level 0 when it's actually much higher. The Earthlings already have several Level 15's and above. If there's a slightly more talented one, you could end up being dealt with if you're careless.

"You went out without loading any Skills and thought you were invincible even though I warned you. You deserve what happened."

Licirius' gaze flickered. Indeed… there were plenty of ways to fake Levels. Could he have been overthinking it?