[225 GTs bonus]

A Legendary Gene spoke for itself. Sylas hadn't even seen a Bronze Gene yet, let alone a Legendary one.

Also, the Madness Key didn't specify what it meant by high Will either. He thought that he had high Will, but did he? Or was his Will just high compared to his fellow humans, a species the system didn't even think high of to begin with?

Olivia rushed over from the distance. Cassarae wasn't allowed to leave the limits of the village without special permissions that she had yet to unlock or earn, so Olivia, her, and the remaining two militiamen had taken up arms within the village just in case any of the wolves made it through.

"We need to deal with the corpses," Olivia said. "Leaving them around here will cause problems. I'll have to ask everyone to help to transport them away."

"I can deal with them," Sylas suddenly said.

"You can?"

"Mm," Sylas nodded, placing a hand on the wolves and taking them into the Madness Key.

Everyone's eyes widened when they saw that Sylas was actually able to store all six corpses without an issue.

'Seems the size of my spatial device is an anomaly,' he noted.

He had hoped that maybe the village had one of equivalent size but couldn't use it because it was storing something important, like emergency food, maybe. Looks like he wasn't so lucky--

---

[Curse: Greed has activated]

---

Sylas' brows immediately furrowed as the Madness Key suddenly glowed a faint light on his chest, something that only happened when it was absorbing Genes.

He sent his mind inside, and suddenly the size began to grow explosively again. In a single instant, it reached 20 cubic meters before coming to a stop.

The wolf corpses dissolved and vanished into nothing.

'What just…'

His head snapped up and toward a certain direction. He heard it long before he saw it.

Another group of Rotten Wolves was approaching, this time from a completely different direction. There was no way they could make it before this pack crossed into the village.

Everyone broke out into a sprint, but it was actually Cassarae who reacted first. She was still within the bounds of the village and she saw quite clearly that not everyone would make it in time.

A greatsword of exaggerated length appeared in her hands. It must have been at least a meter and a half long, not to mention at least eight inches wide at the base before tapering off at the very edge. It was longer than even a traditional longsword, and yet it had a rigidity to it that made Sylas cringe.

Just how much pressure was on her wrists?

There was a glow that enveloped Cassarae, and she suddenly accelerated. A sweeping strike cut into the ground and arced upward, slicing through the earth and air as though they were made up of the very same consistency and cutting off the heads of two Rotten Wolves.

Their bodies collapsed and were trampled beneath the claws of their companions, but that still slowed the latter group down considerably.

Cassarae stood red-faced and gasping for air, but the glow around her quickly solidified once again as she seemed to visibly recover.

She brandished her sword again, cutting down from above and splitting a stumbling Rotten Wolf in two.

Everyone seemed to finally catch up at this mountain and they gathered as one, fighting off and killing the final three slowly, but surely.

Sylas looked up, a grave expression marking his brows as what he feared would happen occurred soon afterward. A third group of wolves appeared once more, this time from yet another corner of the village.

Without a choice, they broke out into a sprint once more.

…

[Common Arts Enthusiast (F-)]

[Progress]

[422/1000 Kicks]

[932/1000 Punches]

[4/10 Fluid Attack Transitions]

—-

Sylas took deep breaths, his body covered in wounds and his chest having gained a bloody claw mark to match his shoulder.

This was already the fourth wave of Rotten Wolves, and the daylight was slowly beginning to wane. If he only had a guess that this was related to the gnolls before, he would be shocked if it wasn't now.

By this point, even he was dead tired, let alone everyone else. The only positive was the improvement to the Madness Key. The now over 20 Rotten Wolf carcasses he had taken in had allowed it to reach 20 cubic meters, and though it hadn't improved beyond that, the density of Madness he could sense from it was on a completely different level.

If he just had time, he was certain that he'd at least have a good chance at improving his Madness Comprehension to Bronze Mastery, but there just wasn't.

Every time he thought it was over, another wave would come. The aim was clear. By the time the gnolls actually appeared, they'd be too dead tired to do anything about them.

'The question is, though… if they're able to control these wolves, why not attack alongside them? And why send them only six at a time? Why not send all 24? There would be no way for us to deal with all of them at once.'

Sylas looked up. The sun was beginning to set. He looked around and could see the gloominess on everyone's faces. Honestly, he would have expected some of the Quest takers to leave by now, and maybe he would have also if not for the fact this was Cassarae's village…

At the same time, he felt some guilt.

He had made this decision for everyone, thinking that coming back to the village would give them the best chance. But how had things turned out? Logically, he felt that it was the right decision. But passing judgment as an unaffiliated third party was always easier than if you were a leader, and you had to bear the consequences yourself.

His chest heaved, his green eyes glistening as dusk settled in. Finally, his breathing settled down, though the aching of his body didn't. Even so, he was still better off than most of the others.